


The Battle of the Billionaires

by JayColin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Background Het, Established Relationship, Foursome - M/M/M/M, M/M, Male Lana Lang, Male Slash, Mpreg, Past Child Abuse, Past Incest, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Sexual Abuse, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Hogwarts, Slash, Threesome - M/M/M, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2018-09-24 18:36:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 43,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9779777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JayColin/pseuds/JayColin
Summary: By the year 2015, Harry Potter has been living in the United States for ten years and is very surprised when he notices the striking resemblance between himself and Clark Kent-Queen, the husband of billionaire Oliver Queen, who has decided to run against fellow billionaire Lex Luthor for President of the United States in the 2016 elections.





	1. Chapter 1

  
  
  
**Characters Pictured on the Cover**  
_Left to Right: Harry Potter, Seamus Finnigan, Oliver Queen, and Clark Kent_  


The Battle of the Billionaires  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

Chapter One

-o-0-o-

Albus Dumbledore sat alone in his office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was the Tenth of May 1980 and Albus had just had a very disturbing meeting with James Potter.

**_“The baby is dead, Albus,” James said and Albus could tell that it was taking everything in the young man not to burst into tears._ **

**_“Dead? What do you mean dead? How?”_ **

**_“Lily insisted on helping me get ready for the move,” James answered. “You know how strong-willed she is when she wants to do something.”_ **

**_“So I’d noticed.”_ **

**_“Well, she was carrying a box of stuffed animals that we’d bought for the nursery down the stairs,” James said. “I made sure that she wasn’t carrying anything heavy, but…”_ **

**_Albus closed his eyes and sighed. He had a feeling he knew what had happened, but as much as he didn’t want to hear it, he prompted, “You mean she?”_ **

**_James nodded. “One of the stuffed animals fell out of the box as she was going down the stairs… she didn’t notice and tripped on it.” Albus could see the tears glistening in the corners of his former students’ eyes, as he added, “She fell down the stairs, Albus… she… she landed on her stomach.”_ **

**_“Oh James I’m so sorry,” Albus said, as tears formed in his own eyes. “When I suggested that you go into hiding, I never thought that something like this would happen.”_ **

**_“I know, Albus,” James said. “It’s not your fault. It was an accident. You couldn’t possibly have known.”_ **

Despite the fact that James didn’t hold him responsible, Albus still felt that if it wasn’t for his suggestion, Lily would not have fallen and miscarried her baby. _‘Damn prophecy,’_ Albus thought, as he once again cursed the thrice-damned prophecy that Sibyl Trelawney had delivered that night just a few weeks before in the Hog’s Head Inn. Albus had been only moments away from concluding that Sibyl didn’t possess her ancestor’s gift of sight. He’d planned on politely refusing Sibyl’s request for a job and telling her that the position of Professor of Divination at Hogwarts was no longer available since he was discontinuing the class.

Apparently, however, someone, somewhere felt that would be a mistake, because just as he was about to open his mouth, Sibyl’s eyes glazed over and she started speaking in a voice that was very different from her normal tone.

**" _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...._ "**

Albus sighed. There was nothing he could do now. He’d figured that knowing Tom, he’d choose the baby that was a halfblood like him, as he’d view that child as the bigger threat. Unfortunately, now that child was dead and no longer an option. Albus knew that left one other child that fit the criteria laid out in the prophecy. He’d been hoping he wouldn’t have to tell Frank and Alice, because he knew that Augusta would fight him tooth and nail on the idea of her son and daughter-in-law going into hiding like cowards and Frank tended to listen to his mother’s advice far too often in Albus’s opinion.

-o-0-o-

A war-weary Albus Dumbledore, who’d seemingly aged a hundred years in the last seven, sat down heavily at his desk at Hogwarts. Augusta Longbottom had shocked Albus to the core when she didn’t fight against the idea of Frank and Alice going into hiding under the Fidelius. In fact, she whole-heartedly supported the idea. Unfortunately, she insisted on being the Secret Keeper and convinced Frank and Alice to move their family, including her, to Australia. Albus hadn’t seen any of them since they’d come to Hogwarts to tell him their decision that day in early August 1980—nearly seven years ago now.

With no child available to fit the criteria of the prophecy, nobody was around to stop Tom and he opted not to extend his search for the child outside of the borders of the United Kingdom. He apparently felt that even if there was a child out there, it wouldn’t matter if he solidified his hold on England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, as he would then surely be powerful enough that it would no longer matter what some batty old seer said.

Unfortunately for the British Isles, that was proving to be true. The Ministry for Magic had fallen under Voldemort’s complete control in 1982 and rather than install a puppet, Voldemort decided to name himself as Minister for Magic. Not long after this, Hogwarts stopped operating as a school, as the Ministry’s funding was cut off. Without Ministry funding and  the student body shrinking every year, either due to deaths or parents packing up their children and fleeing the country, the tuition, which hadn’t been raised in well over a hundred years, wasn’t able to keep up with the costs of keeping the school open. Thus the once proud Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was no more as there was barely enough money left in the accounts to buy quills and ink, let alone pay the professors’ salaries, and any of the numerous other things that were not free. The building was still standing thanks to the ancient wards set by the founders and Dumbledore used the Elder Wand almost daily to reinforce them, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

Dumbledore sighed, as he picked up the report on his desk and started reading. His eyes were bulging by the time he was finished. Voldemort and his Death Eaters had raided London. 15,000 dead, including the Prime Minister, the Queen, and most of her immediate family. Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster both smoking ruins. Fiendfyre raging unchecked through the streets of London. And the Ministry under Voldemort control was doing nothing to keep from breaching the Statute of Secrecy. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long until the existence of the Wizarding World would be revealed because without the Ministry Obliviators doing their jobs, it simply wasn’t possible to convince the Muggles that the fires and explosions had been caused by gas leaks or other mundane causes. Not with magical fires in the shapes of serpents and dragons and other creatures rampaging unchecked through the streets and not going out no matter how much water the Muggle firefighters tried to douse them with.

“Oh bloody Merlin’s fucking arse,” Dumbledore said as he finished reading the report. To say that the war wasn’t going well for the light side would be the understatement to end all understatements. Hogwarts was quickly becoming the very last bastion of the light and it wouldn’t be long until it too fell and then Voldemort would reign supreme in the British Isles and be free to begin his move to continental Europe.

“This can’t be allowed to continue,” Dumbledore said, as he slumped in his chair and rested his bare chin on the palm of his hand. His long gray hair and beard had disappeared years ago, partly due to stress and failing health but also because he’d literally begun pulling his hair out in frustration as Voldemort racked up victory after victory and the Order of the Phoenix and anyone else trying their best to fight again him continued racking up devastating loss after loss.

“I guess it’s time for drastic measures,” Dumbledore finally said as he stood from his chair, grabbed his research notes and headed out of his office. Half-an-hour later, Albus emerged at the top of the Astronomy Tower and consulting his notes one final time to make sure the details were fresh in his mind, he raised the Elder Wand and prepared to cast a spell that would create a magical distortion field that would be weaved into the atmosphere of the planet and be both undetectable and irremovable until its purpose was achieved.

With the spells cast, an exhausted Dumbledore, who even with the power of the Elder Wand had nearly drained his magical core casting the necessary spells, swayed on his feet as he said, “If Dr. Swann is correct it’ll be two more years until the Traveler arrives, at which point I’ll probably be dead and Voldemort will be well on his way to conquering most of Europe. But hopefully this will work and this reality won’t come to pass.”

-o-0-o-

A little over two years later, in October of 1989, several meteors of varying sizes and a small spaceship entered Earth’s atmosphere bound for the small farming town of Smallville, Kansas. Moments after entering the atmosphere, however, both the meteors and the ship glowed bright white as they passed through the distortion field that had been placed there by the late Albus Dumbledore, who’d died only three days after he’d cast the spell and Hogwarts fell to Voldemort. The Dark Lord now controlled all of the British Isles and most of Western Europe and had begun moving towards the Balkans.

With magic revealed and Voldemort and the Death Eaters using a powerful spell to destroy any advantage that the Muggles’ technology granted, essentially setting them back to Medieval times, nobody was able to stand against Voldemort, who was now no longer simply Lord Voldemort, but Emperor Voldemort, who now had absolute rule over one of the largest empires the world had ever known, with the possible exception of the ancient Roman Empire. With the capture of the Balkans and beyond that Anatolia now an almost certainly, however, hope was quickly fading that there was anything that could prevent Voldemort from becoming the undisputed Emperor of Earth.

Within moments both the meteors and the spaceship doubled. Dumbledore hadn’t planned on that happening, but it happened nonetheless, so as the portal through time opened, the original meteors and ship continued on their way towards Smallville, while the copies passed through the portal to be sent back in time to the Thirty-First of July 1980.

As the portal closed, Fawkes, who’d been freely wandering the world after Dumbledore’s death, disappeared in a flash as he flashed into the past. Most people were unaware of the fact that phoenixes could travel through time, but that was because phoenixes were rare to begin with and they also rarely did travel through time since every time they did it, it weakened their ability to regenerate.

Fawkes knew that this trip would be his last as going back over a decade at once would drain away the last of his regenerative abilities and the next time he died it would be for the final time, but he was doing this anyway, as his former master had entrusted him with a missive of vital importance and he was going to deliver it no matter what the consequences. It was comforting to know that this time travel would not affect the version of himself that existed in the past, as for that Fawkes, this trip had never happened.

Moments later, in the Headmaster’s Office back in 1980, Albus Dumbledore’s eyes widened as a phoenix flashed into the room. Turning his head to the side, he shared a confused look with the Fawkes of 1980, who was sitting on his perch. As the scarlet time-traveling bird landed on Dumbledore’s desk, the aged Headmaster’s eyes widened as he asked, “Fawkes? Is that you?”

The bird on the desk nodded its head to indicate that yes, it was.

“So, you’ve traveled from the future, I assume?” Dumbledore asked and the 1989 Fawkes nodded, as the one on the perch began singing a rather mournful song. Pulling out the Elder Wand, Dumbledore scanned the bird perched on his desk and sighed. “You’ve used up the last of your magic to come here so it must be very important.”

Fawkes nodded as a scroll appeared in his beak. Dumbledore took it, unrolled it and began to read the missive from his future self. He was horrified by what he read about Voldemort’s actions, but he wasn’t surprised. Nor was he surprised about the Longbottoms fleeing the country as they’d done that just a month ago. As he read over the details of the contingency plan that his future incarnation had put into place, he thought it was rather marvelous, if unexpected. It seems he’d covered all the bases. A magical distortion field blanketing the planet, woven with a time portal that would be activated after the desired object passed through it.

“Well, I guess I should go then,” Dumbledore said. “I have to neutralize the radioactive effects of the meteor rocks and make sure that James and Lily Potter are in the right place at the right time in order to find their new son.”

-o-0-o-

Dumbledore had been prepared for an uphill battle in convincing James and Lily to go to the farm field in Northern England, but they were willing to do so. Moments after the three of them appeared in the field, Lily and James shielded their eyes as the flaming meteor rocks began raining down and Dumbledore cast a powerful shield to protect them, before casting the necessary spell to neutralize the rocks’ radioactive properties. Not long afterward, a small spaceship crashed into the dirt about a hundred feet from where the three onlookers stood and skidded across the ground, creating a deep ditch behind it, before it finally came to a stop.

Hurrying across the field and approaching the ship, James and Lily gasped as it opened and they could see what appeared to be a nearly three-year-old boy lying inside. He was completely naked with the exception of the blanket he’d been wrapped in and it was clear that the blanket had actually been for a baby who was much smaller than the boy now was. Of course, from what he’d read, Dumbledore knew that this boy’s home planet had been destroyed a little over two years ago and his ship was just now arriving, so when his biological parents had placed him in the ship, he’d been only a few months old and the blanket had been more than large enough for him then.

Picking up the child in her arms, Lily held the little boy close, as James picked up the small blanket. Enlarging it with his wand, James then transfigured it into a set of clothes which would do for the time being until they could get the little boy home.

“What are we going to do with the ship?” James asked, as Lily knelt down and balanced the boy in her lap as she dressed him.

“I’ll take care of that, James,” Dumbledore said. “You just get your son to your house and I’ll be there in an hour to help with the blood adoption ritual. I know this boy can never replace the child you lost, but now at least you’ll have one. I do fear that Voldemort will come after you, so you’ll still have to go into hiding, but let’s hope that it’s only temporary.”

-o-0-o-

Thirty-five years later, Harrison James Potter, the blood-adopted son of James and Lily Potter, awoke in his bed at his home in Salem, Massachusetts. He’d moved to Salem in 2003, a couple of months after he and his new husband had left England on their honeymoon. Harry hadn’t realized until he’d actually left the British Isles just how many bad memories they held for him and how those memories were affecting his overall mood. His husband, however, noticed the change and commented on it. The resulting discussion ended with the decision that they would move to the colonies and get a fresh start.

Thus it was that Harry Potter, his husband and former housemate, Seamus, their adopted son Kieran, Harry’s godson Teddy, and Teddy’s grandmother Andromeda moved to the United States. Purchasing a nice home on a quiet cul-de-sac in the muggle section of Salem, the family began settling in. With the aid of magic, Andromeda, who’d been a very successful solicitor back home, began studying the differences between UK and US law, in addition to the differences between muggle and magical law, as she was determined to make herself a useful member of the household and that meant learning everything she’d need to know in order to obtain the license to practice law in the United States.

Kieran Potter, who was nine at the time of the move, had been an orphan of the Second Wizarding War. After defeating Voldemort, Harry began to underwrite several orphanages in an attempt to aid the children who’d lost their families to the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, to Harry’s frustration, he seemed to be in a minority in terms of caring about the plight of the orphans who were now stuck in overcrowded facilities with little or no hope of being adopted. Volunteering frequently, Harry met Kieran and fell in love with the little boy. Because of that and hoping that the Savior of Wizarding Britain adopting a child would spur on the masses, Harry adopted the then five-year-old Kieran in 1999. This was followed, as Harry had hoped, by a mad dash by the wizarding public to adopt in such numbers that soon the orphanages were empty and potential parents ended up on waiting lists.

 _‘At least my damn fame is good for something,’_ Harry had thought at the time.

Four years later when Harry and Seamus got married, Harry considered the idea of taking Seamus’s last name, hoping that perhaps if Harry Potter ceased to exist that he’d be able to fade into anonymity. It was his friend Hermione, however, who convinced him that would not happen, no matter how much he might want it to. His face was too well known, not to mention his scar, and thus unless he planned to wear Glamour Charms for the rest of his life or become a reclusive shut-in, him taking his husband’s surname wouldn’t really do him any good.

Now, in the year 2015, Harry was in his tenth year teaching Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts to the fifth through seventh year students at the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Seamus was also in his tenth year of teaching, although he was the Introductory Charms professor and taught the first through third year classes. Kieran, meanwhile, now twenty-one years old, had graduated from Ilvermorny and was now a professional Quidditch player for the Salem Sorcerers. Seventeen-year-old Teddy Lupin was in his final year at Ilvermorny and Andromeda was a very successful lawyer in both the muggle and magical worlds.

Of course, the Potter family had gotten bigger since the move to Salem, as Seamus had gotten pregnant on his and Harry’s wedding night and thus nine months later, Finnigan Potter was born. Now eleven years old, Finnigan, or Finn as he preferred to be called, was in his final year at the Salem Institute of Magic, which was a magical primary school that young witches and wizards in the United States attended before starting at Ilvermorny when they were eleven. Thus Finn was slated to start at Ilvermorny in the fall, much to the displeasure of his little sister, nine-year-old Lily Potter, whom Harry had carried, as she was upset that she was going to be all alone at Salem Institute come fall, since Finn would no longer be going to school with her.

“Morning, honey,” Seamus said, as he cuddled up to Harry’s left side and placed a kiss on his temple. Despite their early attempts to hang onto them, both Harry and Seamus had over the course of the last eleven years lost their accents. If they really put an effort into it, they could still use them, but for the most part they didn’t feel it was necessary and thus both now spoke in a much more American idiom and tone of voice. They were living in America, after all, and they were thus surrounded by Americans, so they both figured that the old adage ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do,’ applied.

“Morning,” Harry said with a smile, as he turned his head and tried to kiss Seamus on the lips.

Seamus, however, quickly turned his head so that Harry’s kiss landed on his cheek. He then raised an eyebrow at Harry and said, “Ah, ah, not until you brush.”

“Oh come on, Shay, my breath isn’t that bad.”

Seamus rolled his eyes. “Harry, you know I love you, but you saying that your morning breath doesn’t smell bad is about the equivalent of saying that rotten eggs smell like roses. Both are lies.”

“Oh fine, let’s get up and head into the bathroom then shall we?” Harry asked, as he playfully nipped at Seamus’s nose. “But just so you know once we’re both minty fresh, you’re going to be flat against the tiles of the shower, while I claim your arse.”

Seamus grinned. “Promises, promises.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, across the ocean in Paris, France, twenty-eight-year-old Clark Kent-Queen awoke in one of the four bedrooms of the Royal Suite at the Hôtel Plaza Athénée. It was the second week of May of 2015 and following their wedding seven days ago, Oliver had whisked Clark off on their honeymoon, although Oliver kept where they were going a secret. Clark had tried everything he could think of in order to get Oliver to tell him where they were going, but the blond billionaire showed a remarkable level of restraint in holding firm and not giving in to Clark’s attempts. Even though he’d known it was probably futile, Clark had even tried to get both the flight attendant and the pilot of the Queen Industries private jet to tell him where they were going. Of course, as he’d expected they kept their mouths shut, since Oliver had told them not to tell Clark.

When they were still in the air about a half-hour flight away from their destination, Oliver then went so far as to put a pendant around Clark’s neck which held a blue kryptonite stone that would block all of his powers until it was removed. Clark would have been upset by this, but in all honesty he’d gotten used to wearing it from time to time over the last four years as he’d worn it on several occasions while Oliver was the Governor of California for one term.

While they weren’t married during Oliver’s term, the blond had made no attempts to hide the fact that he and Clark were a couple and thus Clark had appeared in public on Oliver’s arm on several occasions. During those times, Clark often wore the pendant in order to temporarily block his powers to make sure there weren’t any accidents. He was very good at hiding his abilities, but he and Oliver both agreed it was better to be safe than sorry when the media was involved, since through them, the entire state and due to social media, potentially the entire country could be watching their every move.

After Clark was wearing the pendant, Oliver had then made sure to close all the plane’s windows so that Clark couldn’t see out of any of them. Then before they deplaned, Oliver insisted that Clark wear a blindfold and earplugs to make sure that he couldn’t peak or overhear anything that would ruin the surprise. Clark had felt a little silly going down the stairs to the tarmac blindfolded, but Oliver did an admirable job of guiding him to the awaiting limousine and thus Clark made it without tripping.

It wasn’t until the limousine had stopped at the hotel that Oliver finally revealed where they were, and Clark was in awe to find out that they were in Paris. Like most people, Clark had seen plenty of pictures of the City of Lights, but he’d never been there before and hadn’t really expected to ever visit. When he commented on this, Oliver couldn’t resist whispering in his ear that that sort of statement sounded rather odd coming from a person like Clark, who could literally fly anywhere in the world in less than five minutes. Of course, Clark still had a lingering fear of heights so he tended to avoid flying too often and only did it when it was required by his activities as Superman.

“It’s one of the most romantic cities on the planet,” Oliver had said. “So, considering how much I adore you, I figured it was perfect.”

Neither of them said anything else for a while, because they had almost immediately begun trying to break their record for their longest kiss, which at the time of their arrival in Paris was four and a half minutes and had been set the previous day at their wedding. If anyone had passed them during this time, they would surely have thought that they were one person, so close they were standing to one another.

Of course, that illusion was only aided by the fact that over the course of their eight year relationship they’d gotten into the habit of dressing alike. They didn’t dress identically every day, although that particular day did happen to be one of those days that they did. Even now eight years later, Oliver still fondly remembered the day when he’d taken control of Clark’s wardrobe. Most of it was boxed up and donated to charity, but some of it was thrown onto a bonfire in the yard of the Kent Farm, because as Oliver had said at the time, Clark owned way too much red and blue clothing and it was beyond ridiculous how exclusively he wore those two colors. With Oliver’s help, however, Clark now wore very little red or blue, except of course when he was in his Superman uniform.

After kissing for five minutes and thus breaking their previous record, Clark and Oliver headed into the hotel hand in hand. During his term as governor, Oliver had chosen to live at his family’s mansion in Star City and commute to Sacramento via helicopter, which he paid for out of his own pocket, rather than living in the historical governor’s mansion which hadn’t been lived in full time by a sitting governor since 1967.

Thus having lived with Oliver at Queen Manor for four years, Clark had gotten used to an elegance that was far beyond what he’d been accustomed to as a Kansas farm boy. The luxurious appointments of the Plaza Athénée however, were a step beyond even the elegance that was Queen Manor and Clark couldn’t help but feel more than a little out of place, even as Oliver guided them over to the reception desk and proceeded to speak to the desk agent in perfectly fluent French. Clark recognized a few words, but he’d taken Spanish in high school and promptly forgot most of it after graduation.

A few minutes later, when they entered the hotel room, Clark was shocked at the size of it and was even more shocked when Oliver told him that it was 4,845 square feet, with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a luxurious sitting room, dining room, and even a full kitchen. Shaking his head, Clark said, “Was this really necessary, Ollie? I mean, it is just the two of us, so why do we need a suite with four bedrooms? I mean, yes, if Connor and Robbie had come with us, it would probably have made sense, but they’re not here.”

Oliver grinned. “Indeed they aren’t, because I don’t know about you, Clark, but I wouldn’t want my children coming with me on my honeymoon. Besides, four bedrooms just means we have plenty of places that we’re going to have to christen.”

Clark blushed at that comment, even as he began looking forward to doing exactly what his other half had just suggested. Looking around the room for a few more minutes, Clark finally shook his head and asked, “Ollie, how much did this cost?”

Oliver tried to look innocent at this question, because it was sometimes a point of contention between Clark and Oliver that Oliver tended to spend too much money. Surprisingly, however, even with that, they didn’t really discuss money very often and thus Oliver couldn’t honestly remember if he’d ever actually told Clark how much money he actually made. Knowing that his new husband expected an answer, however, Oliver said the first thing that came to his mind, which was, “I don’t think you really want to know.” He winced the moment the words were out of his mouth, however, as he knew that was just about the definition of the wrong thing to say.

“Oliver, tell me.”

“Clark, you know I love you…”

“Oliver Jonas Queen stop stalling and answer the question.”

Oliver sighed. “$27,000… a night.”

“What?!” Clark exclaimed. “Oliver, come on. We’re here for a week and you book us into a suite that costs $27,000 a night?” Taking a moment to do some quick math in his head, he then said, “That’s $189,000 for the week, Ollie. Have you completely taken leave of your senses?”

“Yes, Clark, I have taken leave of my senses,” Oliver said with a grin. “And that’s all your fault, you know, because I love you with all of my heart and soul and thus I’m driven to give you the very best of everything.”

“Ollie, don’t blame your overspending on me. Can’t we get something cheaper? I mean in a week this room is going to cost us more than what the house I grew up in is even worth.”

“No, Clark, we can’t get anything cheaper. As I said, I’m driven to give you the very best of everything and I’m going to do that whether you like it or not. I understand that you grew up on a farm and thus spending $27,000 a night on a hotel room is totally bat-shit crazy to you.” Clark nodded his head at this. “But trust me when I say that I can easily afford it, Clark, because as I would have thought you’d have noticed living at Queen Manor the last four years, I’m rich and now that we’re married, I suppose I should actually say we’re rich.”

Clark sighed. “It’s just a difficult transition for me, Oliver. I mean, I grew up on a farm in Kansas in a two-bedroom house, so whenever we had guests, I had to sleep on the couch so that the guests could use my bedroom. So going from that to even just your penthouse in Metropolis was a shock and then Queen Manor went even further beyond that. But this place, no offense meant, almost makes Queen Manor look cheap by comparison.” Shaking his head, he added, “I just don’t understand how spending that kind of money doesn’t bother you.”

“And to think $180,000 is only for the hotel room,” Oliver said. “That doesn’t include everything else like meals, transportation, or entry fees to the various attractions around town. Although, I think I’d prefer to skip most of the tourist destinations this trip, as I’d much rather spend my time here in the suite with you, preferably naked, while we work our way through christening every surface. I mean, let’s be honest, Clark, who needs the Louvre when I’ve got the immense good fortune to be married to the finest work of art ever created?”

Clark blushed even as he groaned. “Ollie, stop trying to distract me with flirting.”

Shaking his head, Oliver said, “I’ll never stop trying to distract you with flirting, because you, Clark Kent, are drop dead gorgeous. And we’re married now, so, I refuse to resist flirting with you, or hugging you, or kissing you, or doing anything with you.”

“As if the fact that we weren’t married before now meant that you actually resisted doing any of that.”

“Careful or I might think that you’d prefer I start resisting.” Oliver said, as he leaned in and placed a kiss on the tip of the brunet’s nose. “Now, as often as we’ve bickered about money, Clark, I honestly can’t recall ever telling you how much money I actually make. I mean do you even realize how much money I make in a single day?”

Clark looked thoughtful for a moment, before he shook his head. “Honestly, no I don’t know. I suppose that would probably surprise most people, as they would think I should know or that I would look it up on the internet or something, but I never did. I suppose some would question how I was an investigative reporter with an attitude like that, but I love you, Oliver, so I never wanted to give you the impression that it was your money that I loved. So I made a conscious effort to never look into how much you’re actually worth.”

Oliver smiled. He truly had hit the jackpot with Clark Kent, because he’d had plenty of boyfriends over the years who only wanted him for his money. The fact that he’d been openly gay since he was seventeen also didn’t stop throngs of women from throwing themselves at him, all clearly hoping to get a piece of the Queen money.

“I appreciate that more than you can imagine, Clark,” Oliver said after a moment, as he wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist. “But, now that we’re married, you should know that as the majority shareholder of an international conglomerate, according to the Forbes list for last year, I’m the fourth richest man in the United States with a net worth of $74.3 billion, which means that only Bill Gates, Veronica Sterling, and Bruce have more money than me. And that doesn’t include Connor’s or Robbie’s trust funds.”

Clark’s eyes widened at this, as he said, “$74.3 billion? I knew you were rich, but I never thought you were that rich.”

“Well, it won’t be that much when Forbes puts out their next list, because I’ll be dropping to $50.3 billion on the next list, and thus the fifth richest spot, with Warren Buffett taking the fourth spot.” At Clark’s clearly questioning look, Oliver said, “My lawyers are as we speak drawing up all the necessary paperwork to transfer 20% of my Queen stock to you, Clark, along with a few other assets, so assuming the stock doesn’t lose too much value between now and then, you’re actually going to end up on the Forbes list yourself with a net worth of approximately $24 billion. Last time I talked to my lawyer, he estimated that would make you the twenty-third richest person in the country.”

“Oliver, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“I wanted to Clark, and you’re my husband now, for life, because if you think for even a fraction of a millisecond that I will ever let you go, you’re certifiably insane. So, you’re just going to have to get used to living in the lap of luxury, because you’re going to be doing it for the rest of your life. As for this hotel suite, Clark, if it wasn’t already abundantly clear that I can afford $180,000 for a week, I would just point out that I make well over five million dollars a day, so what I’m spending on this hotel is pretty much pocket change.”

Feeling a little weak in the knees, since he was still wearing the kryptonite pendant, Clark leaned against Oliver and wrapped his own arms around Oliver’s waist, as he rested his forehead against his husband’s. After a moment, he said, “Okay, Ollie, you’ve made your point. I’m definitely going to need some time to get used to this, as basically becoming an overnight billionaire many times over is a lot to take in. However, I know that this is important to you, so we can stay here.” He then grinned and said, “Plus, I’ve gotta say the thought of having sex with you in four different beds does sound kind of appealing.”

“Just kind of appealing?” Oliver asked. “Do try to show a little more enthusiasm, Clark.”

“I’ll show you enthusiasm, Oliver Queen,” Clark said as he took a step back, removed the pendant from his neck and tossed it across the room. In the next moment, Oliver found himself over Clark’s shoulder, as he was carried into the nearest bedroom. He wasn’t about to complain, however.

-o-0-o-

On the last full day of their honeymoon, Clark awoke in one of the bedrooms of the suite, as he and Oliver had slept in all of them over the course of the last week. Of course, it should be unsurprising considering that they were newlyweds that actually sleeping was far from the only thing they’d done in those bedrooms. Or pretty much any of the rooms in the suite, as Oliver had not been kidding when he said he wanted to christen every surface in the suite. Even after eight years with Oliver, Clark honestly could not remember a time in which he’d had more sex with the blond then he had during the last week. And not only in bed, but on couches, chairs, bathtubs, showers, dining room tables, and even kitchen counters. Clark wasn’t complaining, however, as he’d greatly enjoyed each and every encounter.

They did not, however, spend every second of every day in their suite as they did go out on the town and see some of the sights, such as the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Oliver had even arranged for a trip outside of Paris in which they headed out to tour the Palace of Versailles, which it had to be said was easily one of the most spectacularly ostentatious places that Clark had ever seen in his life. On their way back from the palace they stopped at a local vineyard and enjoyed a few glasses of wine as they’d watched the sunset together. They’d also spent a good amount of time eating some of the best food that Clark had ever tasted in his entire life, which had surprised him because he’d previously thought that nothing could ever hold a candle to his mother’s cooking. He now knew, however, that he was wrong, although he had no intention of ever telling Martha that.

“You awake yet, sexy?” Oliver asked, with a smile as he entered the bedroom from the living room.

“Yeah, I’m awake,” Clark said as he sat up. Noticing that Oliver had pulled on a pair of black silk lounge pants and a green silk robe, Clark cocked his head and said, “Why are you wearing clothes this early?”

Oliver grinned. “Early? I’d hardly call 1:30 in the afternoon early, Clark. Besides, I don’t think the room service attendant would have appreciated me answering the door naked.”

Now it was Clark’s turn to grin. “He’s obviously blind then.”

“Is that so?” Oliver asked, as he cocked an eyebrow upwards.

“Yes,” Clark answered. “Anyone who doesn’t appreciate the sheer beauty of you naked is as blind as a bat.”

Oliver smiled. “Don’t let Bruce hear you say that. You know how touchy he can get about his favorite mammal.”

Clark snorted. “Sometimes I think there’s something seriously wrong with that man. What Chloe sees in him, I’ll never understand.”

“Well, there’s his handsome face and his ripped body.”

“Puh, please.”

“What you don’t think he’s handsome?” Oliver asked.

“Compared to you? Hell no,” Clark replied. “But, then I guess I’m biased. I mean you are my husband. I suppose if I was married to Bruce--”

“Ah, but why in God’s name would you settle for Bruce when you can have me?” Oliver asked with a huge grin on his face.

“Good question,” Clark said. “Of course, an even better question is why are you still standing in the doorway clear across the room instead of keeping me company over here in this lovely bed?”

Oliver just grinned before ducking out of the room and coming back a moment later pushing a room service cart. Upon getting closer to the bed, Clark smiled when he saw what was on it. There was a bottle of French champagne chilling in an ice bucket, as well as a large plate of fresh strawberries, small bowls of whipped cream and chocolate sauce, and, oddly enough, a can of Reddi-wip and a bottle of Hershey’s syrup.

Cocking his head, the most adorably confused look on his face, at least in Oliver’s opinion, Clark asked, “What’s with all the whipped cream and chocolate sauce?”

Oliver smiled as he straddled Clark’s lap and kissed him, before pulling back and answering, “The bowls of it are for dipping the strawberries in. The others are for other activities,” as he said this he winked and gave Clark a lascivious grin which even a Kansas farm boy, who for the most part had been quite innocent in terms of sexual exploits before he started dating a certain blond, couldn’t possibly misunderstand.

Clark didn’t have a chance to comment, however, because Oliver had reached over and dipped a strawberry into the bowl of whipped cream and was now holding it in front of the brunet’s lips. Smiling, Clark opened his mouth and took a bite of the strawberry, at which point Oliver pulled it away and ate the rest of it himself. Grinning like only a man who is madly and completely beyond rhyme or reason in love can, Clark reached over, grabbed a strawberry, dipped it in chocolate sauce and proceeded to feed half of it to Oliver, before he quickly pulled it away and ate the other half himself.

This back and forth feeding continued for a while, as the heap of strawberries on the plate got smaller and smaller until finally a small, black velvet box—the kind jewelry often came in—was visible on the plate. Reaching over and taking the box, Oliver smiled as he held it out to the brunet.

“Oliver, what is this?”

“Just open it, silly.”

Taking the box from the blond, Clark popped it open and was surprised to see instead of jewelry a set of keys on a silver key ring with a silver flap that had a fancy looking trident engraved on it.

Taking them out of the box, Clark looked at them for a moment and then asked, “Ollie, are these what I think they are?”

“Well,” Oliver hedged. “What do you think they are?”

“They look like car keys,” Clark answered.

Oliver smiled. “Well, that’s good then because that’s what they are. I know you can run or even fly wherever you want to go quite a bit faster than you could drive, but, I figured you should have your own car.”

“I already do have a car, Ollie,” Clark pointed out.

“I meant something a little nicer than your pick-up truck,” Oliver said. “Something more along the lines of what you often see me driving around in.”

“You mean these are the keys to a fancy, overpriced sports car?”

“Yes Clark. A Maserati Quattroporte S to be exact,” Oliver said. “I was tempted to get you a GranCabrio, because I think you’d look good driving around in a convertible, but I could practically hear you in my head saying that I should get you the more practical four-dour vehicle. I even got it for you in red, because I know that even while I haven’t allowed you to wear much of it the last few years, that it’s one of your favorite colors. I have a GranCabrio in green myself—and black, and silver--”

Silencing the blond with a kiss, Clark pulled back after a moment and said, “Ollie, I love you.”

“I love you, too, Clark.”

“Question,” Clark said after looking at the keys in his hand for a moment. “Where exactly are we going to park this new car of mine? I mean, with your car collection I doubt there’s room in any of your garages.”

Clark had been, to be honest, shocked when he found out exactly how many cars his husband owned. Oliver had a total of thirty stored in the underground parking garage of Queen Tower in Metropolis and seventy more in the garage of his family’s mansion in Star City. True, about half of those had been Robert Queen’s, but it was still enough that Clark questioned the wisdom or necessity of adding any more, especially since Connor was following in both Oliver’s and his grandfather’s footsteps in the car department, as he personally owned an additional fifteen of them that Clark was aware of. Clark would say that he was happy that Robbie wasn’t old enough to drive yet, but even he wasn’t immune to the Queen fascination with cars, as he had several of the small battery-powered cars that were built for children to drive around in.

“Totally not a problem, Clark. I can easily add another wing to the garage if necessary.”

Clark laughed and said, “Oh Ollie, only you could possibly say something like that.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Clark,” Oliver said and at Clark’s raised eyebrow, he added, “Clearly, you’ve never seen Bruce’s car collection. If you think I have a lot, well, he’s got way more than I have and that isn’t counting the Batmobiles.”

“Oliver?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

“I can do that,” Oliver said with a smile, before he leaned in and began to passionately kiss the brunet.

Oliver soon prodded the brunet’s lips with his tongue, begging for entrance, which was quickly granted, at which point Oliver snaked his tongue into Clark’s awaiting mouth and began to eagerly explore every inch of the very well-charted territory. After nearly three minutes of kissing, Oliver’s lips left Clark’s and he kissed his way around to the brunet’s left ear, kissing and lightly nipping at the lobe, before whispering, “Lay down and hold still.”

Clark wasn’t exactly sure why Oliver wanted him to do it, but he figured he’d know soon enough, so he did as the blond asked. Oliver smiled as he reached over and grabbed the bottle of Hershey’s syrup and opened it.

“What are you going to do?” Clark asked.

“You’ll see,” Oliver said with a smile, before he tipped the bottle upside down and squeezed, causing the syrup to come out on Clark’s bare chest.

“Ollie!”

“Shh, Clark,” Oliver said. “Stay still or there’ll be chocolate sauce all over the sheets.”

Doing his best to stay perfectly still, Clark just moved his head so that he could stare down at his chest, a look of shock and awe on his face, as he watched Oliver draw a large heart on his chest. Oliver then added an arrow going through the heart, plus “OJQ + CJKQ” inside the heart. Just when Clark was about to comment, however, Oliver put the bottle of chocolate syrup back on the room service cart and grabbed the can of Reddi-wip, which after giving a quick shake, he opened and began to embellish his chocolate artwork with it.

Finishing up his artistic venture, Oliver smiled and said, “Perfect.”

“Ollie, is there any particular reason you felt the need to draw on me?”

“Yes Clark, there is,” Oliver said and winked at the brunet. “You see now comes the best part.”

“And what pray tell is that?”

Oliver grinned maniacally as he put aside the whipped cream and said, “Why the cleanup, of course.”

Before Clark could say anything, Oliver moved so that he could lean down over Clark’s chest and stomach, where he proceeded to lick up his handiwork, very slowly. Clark moaned in pleasure, as the blond’s velvety tongue licked and swirled its way across his bare flesh. Clark wasn’t a virgin when he and Oliver got together, but Clark would have been lying if he’d said that his previous experiences qualified him to be called experienced, because there were plenty of things that he’d now done with Oliver than he never would have even thought of before doing them.

After several minutes of total bliss as Oliver’s tongue roamed all over his stomach and chest, Clark felt a distinct sense of loss when finally the blond’s tongue left his skin. Opening his eyes, which he hadn’t realized he’d closed Clark looked at Oliver and couldn’t help but giggle.

“What?” Oliver asked, not understanding why Clark was giggling.

Grinning, Clark said, “Come here,” as he grabbed Oliver’s robe and pulled him over, before darting his tongue out of his mouth and licking the tip of Oliver’s nose. “You had whipped cream on your nose,” he explained, at which point Oliver grinned, before he started to giggle right along with Clark.

When they finally calmed down again, Clark smiled and said, “That was brilliant, Oliver, really. I’m going to have to return the favor, because it felt great.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Oliver said with a smile as Clark sat up and pulled Oliver into a passionate kiss.

Clark and Oliver continued to kiss for several minutes, totally unaware of the passage of time, until suddenly the ringing of a cell phone cut through the silence. Pulling apart, Clark sighed, “That’s my mom.”

“How do you know?” Oliver asked.

“Because that’s her ring tone,” Clark said and when Oliver looked confused, Clark lightly and playfully punched the blond’s forearm and said, “You bought me a phone that allowed me to set different ring tones for different people, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Oliver said. “Where is it?”

“Sounds like it’s coming from the living room,” Clark said.

“I’ll go get it then,” Oliver said with a smile. “Since I’m dressed and you’re not. As much as I love seeing you walk around naked--”

“Just go, Ollie,” Clark said with a grin as he playfully shoved him.

Grinning, Oliver got off the bed, went out to the living room, and retrieved Clark’s cell phone. Looking at the caller id, sure enough, it was Martha Kent.

“Hey Mom,” Oliver said, as he answered the phone.

“Oliver, is that you?”

“Yeah, it is,” Oliver answered. “Clark is a little busy right now. What’s up?”

“Well, I’m sorry to call like this and interrupt your honeymoon,” Martha said, “but I have some news.”

“What is it, mom?” Oliver asked as he walked back over to the bedroom door and gave Clark the thumbs up sign and a smile.

“Lex Luthor was just on Good Morning America,” Martha said. “Announcing his candidacy.”

“Oh you mean he’s finally going to run for Jackass of the Year?”

“No, Oliver,” Martha said. “He announced his candidacy for President— he’s decided to run in next year’s election.”

Hearing that, Oliver suddenly felt faint. Lex? Running for President? Dropping the phone, Oliver soon fell to the ground, unconscious.

Hearing the clatter of the phone hitting the ground and then the thud, Martha asked in a worried tone, “Oliver? Oliver, are you okay?”

Concerned for Oliver, Clark quickly got out of bed and checked on Oliver to see that he was still alive, but he seemed to have fainted. Grabbing the phone, he said, “Mom, this is Clark. What did you say to my husband just now?”

“What happened?”

“He dropped the phone and fainted,” Clark answered. “Why did he do that?”

“Possibly because I just told him that Lex was just on TV,” Martha said. “He announced his intentions to run for President of the United States in next year’s election.”

“WHAT?!” Clark asked, probably a bit too loudly. Loud enough in fact that back in her apartment in Washington, D.C., Martha had to take the phone away from her ear to avoid being rendered deaf.

A moment later, once Clark didn’t say anything else, Martha said, “Yes, Clark, you heard right. Lex is running for President. As I said to Oliver, I’m so sorry to interrupt your honeymoon with bad news, but I knew you’d both want to know.”

Taking several deep breaths, Clark managed to calm himself down before he said, “Thanks for calling, Mom. We both really appreciate the heads up. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to tend to Ollie.”

“Of course, honey,” Martha said. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom,” Clark said, before he hung up. Picking Oliver up, he carried him over to the bed and laid him down, before going into the bathroom and grabbing a cold, wet washcloth. The whole time thinking, _‘Lex? President? Oh, shit!’_

-o-0-o-

To be continued.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter or Smallville are the property of their respective creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured in the officially licensed material, whether it be television, films, books, etc.
> 
> Main Pairings: Clark Kent/Oliver Queen, Harry Potter/Seamus Finnigan
> 
> Other Pairings: Landon Lang/Whitney Fordman/Jason Teague
> 
> Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Violence, Language, Politics, Religion, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Character Death, Mpreg, Male Lana Lang

The Battle of the Billionaires  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

_Previously in ‘The Battle of the Billionaires’…_

-o-0-o-

The tragic accidental miscarriage of James and Lily Potter’s unborn son has many consequences, such as the Longbottoms moving to Australia under the Fidelius. Without the child of the prophecy around, Voldemort takes over the Ministry and names himself Minister for Magic, cuts off all funding to Hogwarts, and begins taking over the British Isles. Over the course of the next seven years, he not only takes over the British Isles, but most of Western Europe, by which point he’s named himself Emperor and begins his conquest of the Balkans and Anatolia.

Determined to put a stop to this, Albus Dumbledore—who’s been in contact with an American astronomer named Dr. Virgil Swann—casts a powerful spell which ultimately costs him his life three days later. The spell creates a distortion field and time portal which is meant to capture the incoming ship of the Traveler and send it back in time to 1980 where the baby can be adopted by James and Lily. Things don’t go entirely according to plan, however, as the distortion field ends up cloning the ship and its occupant, with the clones being sent back through time and the original continuing on towards Smallville.

Former California Governor Oliver Queen is on his honeymoon with Clark Kent in Paris, France when they receive the very unwelcome news from home that Lex Luthor has announced his candidacy for President of the United States.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Two

-o-0-o-

Once Oliver had regained consciousness, he looked at Clark with pleading eyes and said, “Please tell me that your mother calling was just a very bad dream.”

Clark shook his head, a sad look on his face, and said, “I wish I could, Oliver. I really wish that I could.”

“Damn it! This is bad, Clark—it’s really bad. I mean Lex as President of the United States?”

“Maybe he won’t win?”

“Clark, you know how upset he was about your father beating him for state senate all those years ago,” Oliver said. “Do you honestly think that he’s not going to do everything he can, regardless of whether it’s ethical or even legal, to insure that he doesn’t lose again?”

Clark sighed. He found it extremely hard to believe at this point that he had ever considered the bald man one of his best friends. Looking at Oliver, Clark shook his head and said, “You’re right, Ollie. I’ve come to realize that Lex has no morals—he’ll use whatever means necessary and I don’t doubt that he’ll spend a fortune in an attempt to make sure he wins.”

Oliver nodded. “Of that there can be no doubt, which means that very few people will have the resources necessary to present much of a challenge to his bid. The only thing that gives me some hope is that I imagine he’ll be trying to run as a Republican, which means he’ll have to primary the sitting President and win the party nomination which won’t be easy, because the party loves O’Donnell.”

Anger from the right over the Affordable Care Act—dubbed by the Republicans as Obamacare—and the lingering belief of many, whether it was true or not, that the federal government had mishandled the BP Gulf oil spill in 2010 cost Barack Obama and the Democratic Party the election in 2012. Thus it was that on January 21, 2013, Republican Jacob O’Donnell was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States and there was little doubt among anyone in Washington that he would be seeking a second term.

“Not to mention the fact that Lex has billions to spent,” Clark nodded. “And not just his personal funds, but also his corporate funds, what with the exceedingly stupid Citizens United Supreme Court decision which said that corporations are people and thus their political spending counts as free speech. How they didn’t understand that the decision basically legalized bribery I’ll never understand.”

Oliver laughed. “Indeed. I remember my father commenting a few times that Queen Industries was his baby, since he’d built it from the ground up, but I doubt even he would have considered the company to be an actual person with free speech rights. And anyone who says that money is speech needs their heads examined, because if money is speech then prostitution should be legal. Because making it illegal means that you’re limiting people’s free speech right to say that they like sex, since the money they’re spending is speech.”

Clark nodded, but otherwise remained silent. Even with his mother taking over his late father’s position in the Kansas State Senate and later becoming one of the two Kansas United States Senators, Clark had never been much of a political person. He had opinions, of course, but he’d usually kept them to himself. Years as an investigative reporter for the Daily Planet and his current job as Editor-in-Chief of the Star City Register, not to mention being Oliver’s boyfriend and late fiancé throughout his term as Governor of California, had forced him to become more political.

After several moments of silent contemplation, Oliver finally said, “Maybe I should run.”

“What?”

“Maybe I should run against Lex,” Oliver said. “I can certainly afford to match him on spending and I’ve raised over ten times more money than he has for charity, so, I dare say that my fundraising skills are better than his. Having been the Mayor of Star City and the Governor of California, I also have more political experience then Lex, since his only experience is the one term he spent as Mayor of Smallville.”

“I thought you were done with politics, Ollie. The whole reason you didn’t seek a second term as governor was because you wanted to spend more time with your family.”

“I honestly thought I was too, Clark, and I do want to spend more time with you and Robbie. He’s growing up so fast and I felt like I’ve missed out on a lot during my time as Governor. I’m still upset that I wasn’t there in person to see Connor walk across the stage and get his high school diploma or see him off for his first year in college, but state business took precedence.”

Since Oliver was too busy in Sacramento dealing with important matters of state which required the governor’s personal attention, Clark had ended up going to Connor’s high school graduation alone and even though he recorded it for Oliver to watch back later, he knew that it wasn’t the same as actually being there for his firstborn’s graduation.  And even though Clark and Oliver had only been married for a week now, they shared a seven year-old son, Robbie, and Clark had been acting as Connor’s stepfather for a few years already, despite the occasional odd feelings that caused due to Connor being thirteen when Clark and Oliver stated dating.

Shaking his head, since he knew Oliver was still talking, Clark turned his attention back to him, as he said, “…but this is Lex, Clark. President Lex Luthor… I don’t know about you but just the thought of that sends chills down my spine and makes my blood run cold.”

“It makes me want to throw up,” Clark said. “If he wins, I think we should seriously consider moving to another country, far, far away.”

“Me too,” Oliver agreed. “And I agree on the moving away part.” With a sigh, he said, “However, I also know that if I don’t do everything I can to stop him from becoming President that I’m going to feel terrible, which is why I’m thinking that maybe I should run.”

“I can see why you’re thinking that, Ollie, and I know that you couldn’t live with yourself if you thought there was even the slightest chance that you could have prevented it. But, Oliver, are you really sure about this? I mean do you really think this country would be willing to put an openly gay man in office? Our marriage is a matter of public record and thanks to social media, it’s a well-known fact that you and I have been together for the last eight years, so it’d be impossible for you to just go back into the closet.”

“Yes, with forty million Twitter followers and thirty-five million Instagram followers I realize it’d be impossible for me to go back into the closet, not that I have any intention of doing so. I’ve been out and proud since I was eighteen, so if I run, it will be as an out and proud gay man who is very happily married to the man of his dreams.”

“And if I told you not to run?” Clark asked. He hadn’t really decided one way or the other if he wanted Oliver to run or not, but had felt he needed to know Oliver’s answer to the question.

“Then I wouldn’t,” Oliver said without any hesitation. “Clark, if I do this, then I’m going to need your support. If I don’t have that, well, then I simply won’t do it because you and my family are more important to me than anything.”

Clark sighed. He knew he couldn’t stand in the way of something that Oliver really wanted to do, because he’d be a bad husband if he did that and he didn’t want to start their marriage that way. “If it’s something you really want to do, I don’t want to stop you.”

“Clark,” Oliver said as he grabbed Clark’s left hand with his own and laced their fingers together so that their wedding rings were touching, “we’re married. Your opinion means everything to me. If you’re not comfortable with me running, then I won’t do it and I promise you that I won’t hold it against you. If I don’t run and Lex wins, while I may always wonder if I could have prevented it by running myself, any regret I may have over that would drastically pale in comparison to the regret I’d feel if I felt that I’d forced you into something that you didn’t want.”

Sighing and leaning forward so that his forehead was touching his husband’s, Clark remained silent for several minutes. Finally, he said, “Well, I guess we should get packing then—the sooner we get back to the States and let Lex know that this isn’t going to be an easy race, the better.”

“Are you saying…” Oliver began, but stopped when Clark placed a finger over his lips, and said “Yes, Ollie, I’m telling you to run for President.” With a grin, he added, “When you win though, just don’t expect me to be your First Lady because I’m not putting on a dress and heels for anybody.”

Oliver laughed and said, “Never, Clark. First Gentleman in well-tailored suits maybe, at least in public. In private, I’m thinking First Sexiest Man Alive in as close to nothing as possible.”

“First Sexiest Man Alive?” Clark repeated with a grin.

“Yeah,” Oliver said in a serious voice. How he managed to keep a straight face, Clark would probably never understand. “You’ll be First and I’ll be Second.”

“I love you, Oliver Jonas Queen.”

“And I love you, too, Clark Joseph Kent-Queen.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, in the magical section of Salem, Massachusetts, twenty-nine-year-old Landon Elias Lang was seated at the large library table in the home he shared with his two long-term boyfriends and their children. He was busy grading papers which one might think a teacher wouldn’t have to do during the summer, but Landon was the Ancient Runes professor at Ilvermorny and the department was testing out a new summer program. The idea was to give students who’d failed Runes during the school year the chance to make it up over the summer without having to repeat it, while also giving those students who didn’t take it in their third years but wanted to add it to their schedule the ability to catch up.

Landon’s long-term boyfriends, thirty-three-year-old Whitney Fordman and thirty-five-year-old Jason Teague were seated nearby in armchairs in front of the fireplace, which had a crackling fire in it, despite the fact that it was eighty degrees outside. Of course, with magic, it was possible to prevent the fire from putting any heat out into the room, so, the fire was simply a decorative element. Both of them had their feet up as they each read a book and just relaxed for a bit. Whitney was the Head Coach for the Salem Sorcerers Quidditch team, while Jason was the Quidditch Referee and Flying Instructor at Ilvermorny, so neither of them had papers to grade.

There were probably quite a few people who had known Landon, Whitney, and Jason over the years who would be completely shocked to know that they were wizards, but then thanks to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, they’d told very few people that all three of them were No-Maj-born wizards. The only people from their old lives who were aware of it were Landon’s Aunt Nell and Whitney’s mother. Whitney’s father and Jason’s parents had been aware of it, but they were all dead at this point. Landon’s mother and stepfather had never known, but then they died when he was three, which was before he’d shown any signs of having magic and since he was already in his late teens when he first met his biological father, Landon opted not to tell him or his family.

Landon had just finished grading his last paper when he heard a tapping noise and looking up, he said, “Whit, your mother’s owl is here.”

Both Nell and Whitney’s mother, Elizabeth, had been given owls so that they could keep in touch with Landon and Whitney. Living in the magical section of Salem, and with many people from Smallville and their old lives believing that Jason and Whitney were dead, the three of them and their children had pretty much completely retreated into the magical world. So they had no TV, no computer and thus no internet. Landon’s iPhone had shorted out and nearly exploded when it was exposed to magic. While some might find it hard to believe, Landon had come to enjoy being cut off from technology, and thus he’d never bothered replacing it with a model that was shielded against magic. So, the letters from Nell and Elizabeth were essentially their only contact with the non-magical world.

Marking his place in his book and setting it on the nearby end table, Whitney stood and walked over to the window, which he opened to admit his mother’s owl, who flew in and took a seat on the perch near the fireplace that they kept for exactly this purpose. Relieving the owl of its letter and grabbing an owl treat from a container on a shelf near the perch, Whitney fed the owl, before going over to his armchair and sitting back down.

Tearing open the envelope and pulling out the note inside, Whitney soon realized that it was not as long a letter as his mother usually sent, but more of a quick note. Thus it didn’t take very long for him to read it.

_Whitney,_

_I thought you, Landon, and Jason would want to know… Lex Luthor has announced his intention to run next year. For President of the United States. I’m sure the three of you will agree with me when I say that the thought of Lex in possession of the nuclear codes scares the… I’m not going to say it... out of me._

_Love,_   
_Mom_

Whitney reread the note several times over, sure that he must have read it wrong the first time. And the second time. And the third time. But by the fourth time it was still the same and he had visibly paled, as he said, “Oh shit.”

Looking up from his book, Jason asked, “Whit? What’s wrong? Elizabeth is okay right?” He had never gotten in the habit of calling Whitney’s mother mom, but then he figured it wouldn’t be right since he and Whitney weren’t married. Of course, the main reason for that was because while same-sex marriage was legal in the American Wizarding World, polygamy was not and thus Landon, Whitney, and Jason had chosen not to get married until such time—which they doubted would ever come—that all of three of them could be in the marriage together.

“Mom’s fine,” Whitney said. “The non-magic world, however, may be fucked.”

“Why?” Landon asked. “What’s going on?”

“Lex is running for President next year.”

“Please tell me that you’re talking about President of Jackasses Anonymous?”

“I wish, Jason,” Whitney said. “He’s running for President of the United States.”

“Oh fuck,” Landon groaned. “You’re right, if he wins, the non-magic world is fucked.”

-o-0-o-

Two days later, Clark and Oliver were at the penthouse in Queen Tower in Metropolis, preparing lunch. They were having several of their closest friends and family members over today to inform them of Oliver’s decision to run against Lex, before it was made public.

Oliver was busy making a fruit salad, while Clark finished placing various cold cuts and cheeses on a serving platter. True, they could have gone fancy, but, this was just an informal gathering with their closest friends and family. So they decided that a simple lunch buffet worked best—of course, being rich did have its advantages even when preparing a simple lunch, because Clark and Oliver made sure to buy ten times what they figured they’d need to serve their guests due to the fact that the stomach of one of them redefined the words bottomless pit.

Clark was halfway done with the platter when the buzzer indicating that someone was in the elevator sounded. Calling out to the living room, Clark asked, “Robbie, can you get that?”

There was no response and when the buzzer rang again a couple minutes later, Clark sighed and stopped what he was doing and went out to the living room. He was completely unsurprised to see his seven-year-old son Robbie sitting on the couch, his back turned to the elevator and the kitchen, as he played a game on his PlayStation 4. Between the headphones he was wearing and the fact that he hadn’t yet come into his full Kryptonian powers, Clark assumed that Robbie never even heard his request.

Shaking his head, Clark grinned and said more or less to himself, “Or I can get it,” before he pushed the button that would open the elevator gate into the penthouse. Since Oliver owned the building and there was a guard on duty twenty-four seven, Clark hadn’t been the least bit worried about asking Robbie to answer it, as he knew that whoever it was had been invited.

Which was confirmed when the gate finished lifting and Clark found himself being pulled into a hug as his friend Chloe said, “Welcome home, Clark.”

“Thanks, Chlo,” Clark said, as he returned his friend’s hug, as he smiled over Chloe’s shoulder at her husband, Bruce Wayne. “Hey Bruce.”

“Hey Clark. Enjoy Paris?”

Clark lifted an eyebrow at that, and asked, “Do you have an abnormal fascination with bats?”

Bruce grinned and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“I hope you took plenty of pictures,” Chloe said as she ended the hug. “You know I’m going to have to hurt you if you didn’t.”

“Hmm, well, we have six memory cards full,” Clark said with a grin. “Is that enough?”

Chloe grinned and shook her head, “Yeah, I guess that’ll have to do.”

Motioning towards the grouping of leather sofas, Clark said, “Well, have a seat and see if you can manage to get Robbie’s attention off the video games for five seconds.” Chloe and Bruce grinned, as they headed in that direction. As he headed back into the kitchen, he asked, “Can I get you anything?”

“A retraction of Lex’s big announcement would be great,” Bruce answered.

Clark gave the dark-haired man a knowing smile and said, “I whole-heartedly agree, Bruce. Unfortunately, even with all my abilities, that is beyond me.”

“I know, I just couldn’t help saying it,” Bruce said. “If Lex Luthor becomes President, the Justice League’s job is going to get a lot harder. The man is the devil incarnate, if you ask me.”

“You won’t get any arguments here,” Oliver said, having heard Bruce’s comment as he came out of the kitchen. Before anyone could say anything however, the elevator gate opened. Since neither Clark nor Oliver had opened it, they both knew who it had to be.

“Hey Dad,” Oliver’s twenty-one-year-old son, Connor, said as he entered with his boyfriend, Roy Harper. Spying Clark, Connor grinned and said, “Hello step-daddy-dearest.”

“Step-daddy-dearest?” Clark asked. “Um, okay, Connor, you can call me Clark, thank you.”

Chloe grinned. “What’s wrong, Clark? You don’t like your stepson calling you what you are?”

“Chlo, I’m only eight years older than Connor—it feels weird and makes me feel old.”

“Are you trying to say that I’m old?” Oliver asked with a grin.

“You so set yourself up for that one, Clark,” Bruce said with a smile.

“I know, I know,” Clark said. “And no, Ollie, you’re not old. You proved that plenty of times in Paris.”

A stricken look on his face, Connor covered his ears and mumbled under his breath, “I didn’t hear that,” before he started humming. Everyone else laughed at Connor’s antics, as Oliver came over and wrapped his arm around his son’s waist before pulling one hand off his ear and whispering, “Con, you do know that Clark and I have heard you and Roy, right?”

Since he was standing right next to his boyfriend on the opposite side from Oliver, Roy had no trouble hearing Oliver’s comment, which had both Connor and Roy blushing bright red, as Connor said, “Yeah, but that’s young dudes, not parents! I so don’t need that mental image!”

Oliver grinned. “Oh come on, Con we’re all adults here.”

“Robbie isn’t,” Connor pointed out.

“True, but with his headphones on and his attention on his game, I doubt he’d hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant.” After a moment, he said, “Anyway, couples have sex, big deal, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Now, if you really want something to be embarrassed about I can always pull out your baby pictures.”

“DAD, NO!!” Connor exclaimed in horror, his face looking even more stricken for a second. All too quickly, however, Connor’s face suddenly became smug, as if he’d suddenly remembered a very important fact and said, “You can’t—I burned them.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, Con, but I still have the negatives and several sets of copies stashed in places you’ll never find them. So, there’s plenty of pictures of baby Connor’s naked butt on a rug floating around.”

“Clark, please tell Dad to stop embarrassing me,” Connor whined. “I mean, come on, I’m an adult now, Dad—I’m even in the Justice League for pity sake.”

“Honey, stop embarrassing Connor,” Clark said with a smile that clearly said he knew that his husband wasn’t going to listen to him.

“He’s my son—it’s my job as a parent to embarrass him,” Oliver said with a grin.

“Damn straight,” Lois said as she walked in with her husband, Andrew, since Connor and Roy hadn’t closed the gate behind them. “I’m sorry to tell you this, Connor, but no matter how old you get, Ollie is allowed to embarrass you. It’s part of a parent’s job description.”

Walking over to Lois with a smile, Clark hugged her and said, “Hey Lois,” before turning and smiling at Andrew, “and Andrew.”

“Hello Smallville,” Lois said. “Did you enjoy your honeymoon?”

“It was fabulous,” Clark answered. “And before you ask, as I already told Chlo, Oliver and I have six memory cards full of pictures.”

Before anyone could say anything though, Clark got a mischievous grin on his face before he looked at Connor and said, “Actually make that seven memory cards.”

“Seven?” Chloe asked, with a grin. She had a feeling she knew where Clark was going with this and boy was she right.

“Yeah, seven,” Clark answered. “Though, I don’t know, the seventh might be a little too personal to share—Ollie and I are in flagrante delicto in all those pictures.”

Shaking his head, a mutinous look on his face, Connor said, “Thanks a lot for that image, Clark. Not.”

“Hey, it’s my pleasure, Connor,” Clark said with a grin, as he wrapped his arms around both Oliver and Connor. “After all, I am your stepfather now. I know I’ve been playing the role for the better part of the last eight years, but now that your father and I are married, it’s official now. I assume that means Ollie’s job as a parent extends to me now, right?” Clark turned to Lois with a raised eyebrow and a questioning look.

“Yes, Smallville, it does,” Lois said with a smile, before fixing Connor with a mildly sympathetic look and said, “Sorry Connor.”

Taking a deep breath, Connor said, “Yeah, whatever.”

Figuring that they had tormented Connor enough for the moment, Clark and Oliver let go of him. As if afraid they’d try and grab him again, he quickly crossed the room and settled down on one the black leather sofas next to his half-brother. Roy joined the pair, taking a seat on Robbie’s other side, as both of them began focusing all their attention on Robbie’s video game. For Connor at least, everyone suspected that he was trying to distract himself from thinking about a naked Clark and Oliver.

“So, Lois, where’s Lane and Deanna?” Chloe asked her cousin, referring to Lois’s and Andrew’s six-year-old son Lane and two-year-old daughter Deanna.

“They’re spending the day with Drew’s grandmother,” Lois answered.

“Getting spoiled rotten, no doubt,” Andrew added with a smile. “The way Gram acts around those two, I’d swear you’d never know that she’s the same Veronica Sterling who’s known as one of the world’s most ruthless corporate raiders.”

“I didn’t realize that she was even in town,” Bruce said.

“Yeah, she had a few meetings here,” Andrew said. “She could have handled them from the New Orleans headquarters over a video link, but, she’ll use any excuse she can to spend time with her great-grandkids.”

“Yeah, she loves them to pieces,” Lois said. “She’s been pestering us to have more, though to be honest I think two is enough.”

“I’d agree with you on that cuz,” Chloe said. “Well, unless that is Queen Industries manages to invent a method that will allow for men to carry children. Then Andrew can do the honors.”

“No, no, that is not happening,” Andrew shook his head. “That is so not happening.” Turning towards Oliver, he asked, “Ollie, please tell me that QI isn’t working on anything of the sort?”

The reason Chloe even mentioned it was because Queen Industries had become something of a pioneer in the field of genetics and reproductive health, inventing a means for two men or two women to have biological children together that were theirs and theirs only. For men, the services of a surrogate were still needed, but it had turned out to be a useful advancement, as Clark and Oliver were able to lie and tell the press that that was how Robbie existed. They certainly couldn’t tell them the truth that Clark was from another planet and had carried Robbie himself.

Grinning Oliver said, “Well, actually now that you mention it…”

“Seriously?” Andrew and Bruce asked at the same time. Aside from Andrew’s reservations, Bruce couldn’t help but worry that if such a thing came to pass that Chloe would be saying he’d have to do the honors of carrying their first child.

Oliver doubled over laughing as he said, “Oh God, the looks on your faces! Priceless!”

After a few minutes, he sobered and said, “Honestly, guys, I have no clue what QI is working on.” At the dubious looks, he said, “Seriously, I don’t. I still own it, but remember when I decided to run for Governor, I wanted to avoid the appearance of any potential conflicts of interest. So I’ve had nothing to do with QI’s day to day operations since two years before I started my term in Sacramento. I haven’t gotten a single report in all of that time, so they could be preparing to settle people on Jupiter for all I know.”

“You own 80%…” Bruce began.

“60%,” Oliver interrupted. “I signed over 20% to Clark as a wedding gift.”

“Fine, 60%,” Bruce corrected. “You honestly expect us to believe you don’t know about anything they’ve done in the last six years?”

“Yes, Bruce, I do,” Oliver said. “Honestly, what do you think I’ve been doing for the last six years? Twiddling my thumbs with my feet up on a desk? Being the Governor of a state that has a larger economy than France is not an easy task.”

“You were only governor for the last four years, Oliver,” Andrew pointed out.

“Yeah, no shit, Einstein,” Oliver said. “And before that I was fundraising and you know actually trying to get elected? Clark will tell you that most nights on the campaign trail I came home and barely had enough energy to get up the stairs to our bedroom let alone get undressed. Do you honestly think I sat down and read a bunch of corporate reports?”

“He’s telling the truth guys,” Clark said. “Take it from the guy with x-ray vision and super hearing. Oliver hasn’t brought a single QI report home with him or taken a single call from the executive team that run the company in which they discussed anything more than the weather and other completely non-corporate issues in six years. And since QI is a private company, they don’t release reports to the public, so, Oliver knows only as much as any of you do.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, back in Salem, Landon was sitting at the kitchen island. He’d sat down to eat lunch and he did have a salad in front of him, but he’d only taken two bites in the last fifteen minutes, as he was too preoccupied with his thoughts to concentrate on anything else. That had been pretty much the case since Elizabeth Fordman’s note arrived two days previously.

“Dad? Is something wrong?” asked thirteen-year-old Eric Fordman-Lang, as he watched his dad with a concerned look on his face.

Eric and his fraternal twin brother, Kaidan, were Landon’s sons with Whitney, who were born during Landon’s seventh year at Ilvermorny. After dating for two years, Landon and Whitney broke up in mid-2002, when the twins were six-months old. It was after the breakup that Landon had dated Clark Kent for a few months in 2003, before going off to Paris, France to study Art History.

Landon took the twins with him to France, because Landon, Landon’s Aunt Nell, Whitney, and his mother were the only people who knew about the twins. Not even Clark knew that Landon was a father two times over. He’d felt bad about withholding that from him, but he knew he couldn’t tell Clark because that would undoubtedly lead to questions about who their mother was. And Landon certainly couldn’t tell Clark that Whitney Fordman was the twin’s other parent and had carried them. Doing that would have been a major breach of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

While in Paris, Landon met Jason and they dated for a year, before Landon and Clark got back together for a year. It was after Clark and Landon broke up for the final time in 2006 that Landon made what he still to this day considers to be the biggest mistake of his life. The mistake was dating Lex Luthor for a year, which culminated in a six-month-long marriage. Although it ended rather quickly when Landon realized that Lex wasn’t even gay and that the only reason that Lex had gone after Landon in the first place was to get back at Clark for something.

Finally in 2008, Landon resumed dating both Whitney and Jason. They were both aware of each other and they had a platonic friendship for a few months, but they both wanted Landon. So rather than making him choose between them, the three of them instead formed a triad after about a year, by which time Whitney and Jason had begun falling for each other. A year after the three of them got together, Whitney and Jason had a son together, Xander Fordman-Teague, who was now five years old. Rounding out their family was Landon’s son, eleven-year-old Wesley Lang, and Jason’s son, nineteen-year-old Schuyler Teague.

“Dad? Earth to Dad,” Kaidan asked, when after a few minutes Landon hadn’t answered Eric’s question. “Come in Dad.”

Seeing that Landon apparently wasn’t paying attention, Schuyler got up from the kitchen table and shook Landon’s shoulder. “Yo, Landon, Eric and Kaidan are talking to you.”

Shaking his head, Landon said, “Thanks Sky,” before turning and giving Eric and Kaidan his attention. “What’s up, guys?”

“I asked if something was wrong,” Eric answered, as Kaidan nodded and added, “Yeah, because you seem really out of it.”

“You’ve seemed out of it for a couple days now,” Wesley added, from his place at the kitchen table. “We’ve all noticed it.

“Yes, I’ve been grappling with something,” Landon said. “But don’t worry guys, I’ll figure it out.”

“If you say so,” Kaidan said in a doubtful tone, as he finished his lunch. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had plans, he might have pressed the issue. “Anyway, can I borrow some money?”

Raising an eyebrow, Landon asked, “And what do you need it for?”

“We have a date,” Eric answered for his twin.

“You’re dating now?” Landon asked. “When did this happen?”

“Recently,” Kaidan answered, blushing slightly as he did. “It’s only our second date. They paid for our first date, so it’s Eric’s and my turn this time.”

“Who is they?” Whitney asked, as he entered the kitchen with Jason. “Anybody we know?”

“Dad,” Eric and Kaidan said in unison, drawing out the word.

Shaking his head, Jason said, “You want money, cough up details. Otherwise you’ll have to make do with whatever you two have left of your allowances.”

“Oh come on, Jason!” Eric said. “I can’t possibly go on a date with only a quarter dragot to my name.”

“And I only have a half dragot,” Kaidan added.

Landon shrugged his shoulders. “Well, that’s too bad, guys. As Jase said, if you want us to give you money, then you need to give us details.”

“But we’ll pay you back!” Eric and Kaidan whined.

Shaking his head, Whitney said, “No details, no money. End of conversation.”

Eric and Kaidan groaned, before Eric said. “Oh fine, I’ve got a date with Lorcan Scamander, and Kaid has a date with his brother, Lysander.”

“Happy now?” Kaidan asked.

“I will be as soon you two drop the attitudes,” Whitney said. “You’re only thirteen, after all, and I wasn’t aware that either of you had started dating.”

Jason, meanwhile, had a thoughtful look on his face, before he asked, “Scamander? Is that any relation to Rolf and Luna Scamander?”

Schuyler nodded. “Yeah, Jase, they’re their twin sons. They were four years behind me in Horned Serpent.”

“Four years behind you?” Whitney asked. “That would mean that they’re fifteen.” Shaking his head, he said, “I’m not sure I like the idea of you guys going out with older boys.”

“Oh come on, Dad, it’s only two years,” Eric retorted, at which point Kaidan nodded and added, “That’s half the age difference between you and Dad.”

Jason grinned. “They’ve got you there, Lan, Whit.”

“Whose side are you on?” Landon asked.

Holding up his hands, Jason said, “I’m not taking sides. I’m just pointing out that they do have a point. I’m sure your Aunt Nell wasn’t exactly thrilled when you first started dating Whit… since you were only fourteen and he was eighteen. But it obviously worked out well.”

Whitney sighed. “Fine, I guess I can’t argue with that,” as he pulled out his money pouch and counted out a total of twenty dragots, giving ten each to Eric and Kaidan. “But this is coming out of your allowances next week. You want to earn it back, you’ll have to do more chores.”

“Thanks Dad,” Eric and Kaidan said as they took the coins, hugged Whitney, and proceeded to leave the room to go get ready for their dates.

“I expect to meet them soon,” Landon called after them.

If Eric and Kaidan heard Landon’s comment, they made no indication of it. Schuyler shook his head and said, “Well, I’ve gotta get going. I have a research paper to finish for Professor Picquery, so I need to head to the library.”

Professor Euphemia Picquery—the granddaughter of former MACUSA President Seraphina Picquery—was the Arithmancy professor at Ilvermorny. After graduating, Schuyler decided to get a Mastery in Arithmancy, so he worked out an apprenticeship deal with Euphemia. One more year and he’d be ready to take his Mastery tests.

“Can you drop me at the pitch on your way?” Wesley asked, as he finished eating. He played Seeker for the Salem Serpents, which was the name of the local Junior Quidditch League’s team. “We have practice in half-an-hour.”

“Sure, squirt,” Schuyler said as he wrapped his arm around Wesley, before they both went out the back door and walked to the edge of the wards around the house, before Schuyler Disapparated, taking Wesley with him.

“Well, we have the house all to ourselves now it seems,” Whitney said with a grin. “Shall we lose the clothes and go have some fun in bed?”

“As tempting as that sounds,” Jason said, “and trust me it’s very tempting, we don’t actually have the house to ourselves yet, Whit. The twins are still here. Besides that we, specifically Lan, has more important things to be doing.”

“I do?” Landon asked. His tone was unconvincing and it was clear that he knew exactly what Jason was talking about, even if he chose to play dumb.

“Yes, Landon, you do,” Jason said. “You’ve been putting it off for two days now.”

“I don’t see why I have to be the one to tell him. He’s going to find out sooner or later.”

Whitney sighed. “And he’ll probably have a heart attack.”

Jason nodded. “Trust me, Landon, I knew Oliver Queen when we were children and we went to boarding school together. There’s no way that he’s going to let Lex Luthor run for President unopposed. I’m ninety percent sure that he’ll throw his own hat into the ring.”

“And that’s going to mean national media coverage,” Whitney added. “And Harry and Shay live in the Muggle section of town, so they have a TV, Lan. It’d be better coming from a friend and co-worker then being blindsided by a news report.”

“Honestly, I’m shocked that Harry has lived stateside for ten years and hasn’t seen any coverage about Clark yet,” Jason said. “I suppose living on opposite coasts might be why. But, if Oliver runs for President, then Clark, as his husband, will definitely be making headlines of the national variety.”

“Yes and that’s going to be quite the shock for Harry,” Whitney said. “I was shocked when I first met him because I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t Clark. Despite the age difference and Harry’s scar, those two could seriously pass for identical twins.”

“Fine, I’ll go pay Harry and Shay a visit,” Landon said.

“Today,” Jason said, at the same time that Whitney said, “Right now.”

Rolling his eyes, Landon said, “I’m going, I’m going.”

As Landon headed out the back door, he mumbled under his breath about boyfriends who wouldn’t let him procrastinate. Landon usually wasn’t one to put things off, but this was one task that he would gladly put off for a lifetime. While he was friends with Harry, he still found spending time with him to be awkward. Considering that he was literally a dead ringer for Landon’s ex-boyfriend… that he was keeping a major secret from.

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there’s Chapter Two of ‘The Battle of the Billionaires’. I wasn’t planning on updating this story again until the next Evil Author’s Day, but the first chapter got a pretty good response and I know some were upset that Landon/Whitney/Jason were listed as a pairing and they weren’t in Chapter One. Well, I’ve remedied that. Obviously Harry and Seamus will be in the next chapter. And Oliver and Clark will tell their friends and family about Oliver’s decision. Stay tuned.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson.vascardi.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter or Smallville are the property of their respective creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured in the officially licensed material, whether it be television, films, books, etc.
> 
> Main Pairings: Clark Kent/Oliver Queen, Harry Potter/Seamus Finnigan
> 
> Other Pairings: Landon Lang/Whitney Fordman/Jason Teague, Lorcan Scamander/OMC: Eric Fordman-Lang, Lysander Scamander/OMC: Kaidan Fordman-Lang
> 
> Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Violence, Language, Politics, Religion, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Character Death, Mpreg, Male Lana Lang

The Battle of the Billionaires  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

_Previously in ‘The Battle of the Billionaires’…_

-o-0-o-

Oliver and Clark discuss the revelation that Lex Luthor is running for President of the United States of America. Their discussion leads Oliver to wonder if maybe he should run against Lex. After some more discussion, Clark gives Oliver his blessing to do just that. Two days later, they’ve returned from Paris and they’re preparing to tell their friends and family about Oliver’s decision.

Landon, Whitney, and Jason are enjoying a quiet day at home when their world is turned upside down when a note from Elizabeth Fordman arrives to tell them about Lex’s intentions. Over the next two days, Landon agonizes about the situation, knowing that he should warn his friend and co-worker, Harry Potter, who bears a striking resemblance to Clark Kent-Queen. While no public announcement of Oliver’s intention to run has been made, Jason is almost positive that Oliver will decide to run.

Landon and Whitney also find out that their fraternal twin sons, Eric and Kaidan, have begun dating Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, after Kaidan asks to borrow money. Neither of them is thrilled with the idea of Eric and Kaidan dating Lorcan and Lysander, since they’re older and presumably more experienced, but as the twins point out, the Scamander twins are only two years older than them… half the difference between Landon and Whitney.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Three

-o-0-o-

Apparating into a secluded alleyway that was about two blocks from the Potter home, Landon pulled out his wand and did a few quick transfigurations on his clothes to make them more muggle appropriate. Living in the magical world, Landon mostly wore magical fashions these days, but having grown up in the muggle world, he knew that he’d stand out like a sore thumb if he visited Harry and Seamus’s house dressed that way. Once he was satisfied with his look, he put away his wand and left the alley, walking the two blocks to his destination.

As Landon walked up the driveway of Harry’s and Seamus’s house, he took a deep breath. He’d never actually visited Harry and Seamus at their home before. He knew where they lived because they’d revealed that much during their conversations at work. Not to mention the fact that their adopted son Kieran was still living at home with them when he was recruited to play for the Salem Sorcerers. Whitney was the Assistant Coach at that point and thus knew where all the players lived. Kieran had gotten his own apartment now, but Landon knew that Harry and Seamus still lived in the same house they originally bought ten years ago when they emigrated from the United Kingdom.

Walking up to the front door, Landon rang the bell. A second later, the door opened.

“Yes, can I help you?”

Like co-workers who become friendly often do, Landon had shown Harry and Seamus pictures of his family and they’d done the same in return. Recognizing the boy that answered the door as Harry’s and Seamus’s son Finnigan, Landon smiled. “Finn Potter?”

“Yes?”

“I’m Professor Lang. I work with your parents.” Lowering his voice and leaning down a bit closer to Finn, since they were in a Muggle neighborhood, he added more softly, “At Ilvermorny.”

“Oh, um, come in,” Finn said as he stood aside to let Landon enter the house.

As he did so, a voice that Landon recognized as Harry’s called out from another room, “Finn? Who was at the door?”

“Professor Lang,” Finn called out as he closed the door behind Landon.

Harry walked into the entryway a moment later, surprised, as he asked, “Landon? What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Harry,” Landon said with a smile, as he shook hands with the other man. “Would you believe that I was in the neighborhood?”

Looking a bit dubious, Harry said, “Not really, no. You’ve never visited before, after all, despite us being friendly at work for over seven years now.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s a lie,” Landon admitted. “I came here because I’ve got something very important to tell you. Jase and Whit thought it important that I tell you before you see it on the news.”

Motioning for Landon to follow him into the living room, as Finn headed up the stairs to go back to his bedroom, Harry asked, “Before I see what on the news?” Turning around to face Landon again, he motioned for the sofa and said, “Please have a seat. Can I get you anything?”

“Water is fine,” Landon said, as Harry nodded. Ejecting his wand—the Elder Wand because despite several attempts he’d found that no other wand worked as well for him any longer—from the holster on his wand arm, Harry pointed it in the general direction of the kitchen and said, “Accio Ice Mountain.”

A moment later, a bottle of Ice Mountain spring water floated into the room and into Harry’s awaiting hand. Handing Landon the bottle, Harry put his wand back in its holster, before they both sat down.

Opening the bottle of water and taking a sip, to buy himself a couple seconds, Landon finally said, “I assume that you’ve seen or heard the news about Lex Luthor running for President?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I did. Though I admit it doesn’t mean a whole lot to me because I know nothing about the man. Well, other than the fact that he’s rich but that’s only because the headline in the paper I saw at the checkout at the grocery store said that he’s a billionaire industrialist.” After a moment, he added, “I assume he has something to do with LuthorCorp.”

“Yeah, he owns it,” Landon confirmed. “His father, Lionel Luthor, founded the company. And yeah, Lex is definitely rich. He’s the fifteenth richest man in the country according to the Forbes list—has a net worth of $37.5 billion.”

“Okay,” Harry said, drawing out the word a bit. “What does this have to do with why you’re here?”

Landon sighed. “He’s not a good man, Harry. I know that from personal experience.” After taking another swig of water, he added, “I was married to him, after all.”

“Married?”

“Yeah, it was years ago,” Landon answered. “We dated for about a year, before we got married. The marriage only lasted six months, though, before I found out that he’s not even gay. He was just using me to get revenge on my ex-boyfriend, Clark Kent… my son Wesley’s father.”

“Huh,” Harry said. “I always wondered who Wesley’s other father was. He looks like you, but I never saw any resemblance between him and Jason or Whitney.” Grinning, he added, “Shay said he thought Wesley looks like me, but obviously that’s ridiculous because you and I have never been together.”

“Yeah,” Landon said. “Well, Clark doesn’t know. He’s a No-Maj, so I couldn’t tell him about Wesley because that would be a major breach of the Statute of Secrecy since I carried and gave birth to Wesley. It would have been permissible if Clark and I were married and he lived with Wes and me, but obviously that’s not the case.”

“A complicated situation,” Harry said. “But unavoidable I suppose. At least Rappaport’s Law is no longer a thing. Or you’d be in jail right now.”

Landon nodded. “Yes, repealing that stupid law was one of the best things that MACUSA ever did. I get why it was passed in the first place, but it long surpassed its usefulness. Anyway, Clark is married now himself, to the billionaire owner of Queen Industries and former Governor of California, Oliver Queen. Jason knew both Oliver and Lex as children and went to boarding school with them. Well, that is Jason’s No-Maj-world duplicate went to boarding school with them, while he was at Ilvermorny.”

“Ah, so you have longstanding ties to several rich people,” Harry said. “Of course, I knew that before you came today, since you and I are both on the Forbes list ourselves I believe. Not that I ever paid much attention to such things, but I seem to recall someone at work mentioning that we’re both on it.”

“Probably Greg Johnstone,” Landon said, referring to Professor Gregory Johnstone, the No-Maj-born Professor of Intermediate Herbology at Ilvermorny. His wife was a No-Maj, so Greg was often talking about the non-magic world with his co-workers. “He talks about No-Maj stuff all the time.”

“That he does,” Harry said. “Just out of curiosity, do you have any idea where we are on that list? I can’t imagine that I’m very high on it because I don’t have anywhere near as much as what you said Lex Luthor has.”

“It’s been awhile since I looked at it,” Landon said, “but I think you and Shay are tied at number thirty-eight on the list. And I’m tied at number twenty-nine with Oliver’s son Connor.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize that you were richer than me,” Harry said. “Not that I really care about such things. Old family money?”

Shaking his head, Landon said, “No. My family wasn’t exactly poor, as I grew up on a horse farm in Smallville, Kansas, but we weren’t billionaires by any stretch of the imagination. But my investment manager has managed the five billion dollar divorce settlement that I got from Lex very well over the years.”

“Anyway, what brought you here to talk to me?” Harry said. “As interesting as this conversation has been, I don’t really understand why you felt the need to visit. Not that I’m not happy to see you, because I am, but I’m drawing a blank on the why.”

“Yeah,” Landon said. “You remember your comment earlier? That Shay said that Wesley looked like he could be your son?”

“Yes.”

“Well, he wasn’t all that far off from the truth,” Landon said. “I know this is going to sound unbelievable. Jase, Whit, and I could barely believe it ourselves when we first met you.” Shaking his head, he said, “Minus your scar and if you were about six years younger, you’re a dead ringer for Clark Kent-Queen.”

“You mean Oliver Queen’s husband?”

“Yeah, Oliver’s husband, my ex-boyfriend, and Wes’s father,” Landon said. “I don’t know how, but I swear you two could be identical twins. You’re clearly older, as that touch of gray in your hair shows, but see for yourself.”

At this, Landon pulled out his wallet, and began flipping through the section that contained pictures, before finally taking the wallet-sized snapshot of Clark out and handing it over to Harry. He didn’t walk around with pictures of his exes in his wallet as a general rule, although he did have pictures of Clark so that he could show them to Wesley at some point. He’d added the picture the day he found out Lex was running, after Jason had suggested telling Harry.

Taking the picture and looking at it, Harry’s eyebrows rose into his hairline. “Wow. You’re right, we do look alike. So much so that I’d swear this was me, but I’ve never set foot in the offices of the Daily Planet in my life. Well, that and my scar is missing.”

“Yeah, Clark was an investigative reporter for them for a few years, before he started working for the Star City Register after he moved to California with Oliver. He’s the Editor-in-Chief now.”

Handing the picture back to Landon, Harry asked, “So why come and tell me this now? As interesting as it is to know that there’s a No-Maj running around that looks like me, why did you feel the need to come and tell me that now? Why not years ago?”

“He hasn’t made any form of public announcement yet,” Landon answered. “But Jason is sure that with Lex’s announcement, it’s only a matter of time before Oliver Queen throws his own hat into the presidential ring. He and Lex have been rivals for years, so it’s unlikely that Oliver will let Lex run for president unopposed. And with Clark being married to Oliver now that will mean that Clark is going to make the national news at some point. So Clark’s face—and your face—will be on televisions throughout the country and potentially the world.”

Harry was quiet at this, so Landon added, “Living in a non-magical neighborhood, it’s more than possible that you could start suffering from mistaken identity. I know part of the reason you moved here was to get away from the attention in England, so Whit, Jase, and I figured that you had a right to know about what’s probably coming.”

Harry sighed and shook his head. “Thanks for telling me. Shay and I do have a house in the wizarding village of Greylock near Ilvermorny where we spend some of the weekends during the school year. I guess we’ll have to consider moving.” Looking around the room, he added, “I’m going to miss this place, but living here for ten years, I’ve seen the media frenzy that happens around No-Maj presidential elections and I have no desire to be in the midst of it with people mistaking me for one of the candidate’s husbands.”

Landon nodded. “And it could also lead to problems for Oliver, because if a photographer were to get a shot of you and Seamus together, it could lead to stories that Oliver and Clark have broken up. Considering that Oliver is likely going to be the first openly gay presidential candidate, it’s almost a guarantee that his relationship with Clark is going to be discussed by political pundits all over the country. And Lex has no morals and will probably do everything he possibly can to win, so even the slightest hint of a scandal regarding his opponents and he’ll have it all over the media before you can blink.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, back at the Fordman-Lang-Teague house—officially called Isis House after the foundation that Landon founded in Metropolis years ago—thirteen-year-old twins Eric and Kaidan were in their bedroom getting ready for their dates. As Eric stood in front of his closet trying to decide on an outfit, Kaidan was seated at the vanity table on his side of their shared bedroom as he styled his hair.

Despite being twins, Eric and Kaidan did their best to be as different as possible, which was admittedly easier since they were fraternal rather than identical. Still, there was a family resemblance and they’d both gotten Landon’s black hair. Although in order to set himself apart from his brother, Kaidan had taken to dyeing his hair blond. It was still obvious what his natural hair color was, however, as Kaidan only dyed the tips and added highlights, so his roots were still visibly black.

One big thing that set them apart even from other sets of twins was that they had different birthdays and had even been born in different years. Many people, when first told this, were understandably confused, at least until the twins explained that Eric was born at 11:57PM on December 31, 2001, while Kaidan was born at 12:02AM on January 1, 2002.

They loved having different birthdays because Landon and Whitney had always made a point of celebrating both and never attempting to combine the two. As a side effect of this, however, they usually always had birthday cupcakes instead of birthday cakes, because otherwise the family would be eating too much cake if they had to buy two of them for birthdays that were only one day apart.

As he finished putting the gel in his hair that held it in his preferred style, Kaidan turned on the stool and said, “Wear the blue denim shorts and the pink t-shirt. It looks good on you, bro… and more importantly Lorcan seems to like it.”

Nodding his head, Eric said, “Yeah, you’re right,” as he pulled out the two articles of clothing that Kaidan had suggested. Setting the t-shirt on his bed, Eric crouched down to put hit feet in his shorts and began pulling them up, covering his gray boxer-briefs as he did so. As he began buttoning the button fly, he looked over at Kaidan and saw that we was wearing an identical pair of blue shorts, although he’d opted for a sleeveless light blue t-shirt. “Lookin’ good, Kaid.”

“Thanks. Lysander does seem to like this color on me, so I figured it was an obvious choice.”

“And showing off your muscles can’t hurt,” Eric said in a slightly jealous tone, because Kaidan had more obvious definition that he did. “I need to go to the gym more. I’m a Wampus for pity sake. We’re supposed to be warriors.”

“Well, if you need a spotter let me know. I’ll gladly help you.”

“Thanks Kaid.”

“Oh my motives are completely selfish,” Kaidan said with a grin. “Lorcan and Lysander are a package deal, so I can’t have your lack of definition ruining my chances now can I?”

“No, I guess not,” Eric said as he pulled the shirt on over his head. Once he’d pulled it down he did a little turn and asked, “How do I look?”

“Good, but we need to do something about your hair,” Kaidan said as he stood and pointed at the stool. “Sit.”

Sitting down on the stool in front of Kaidan’s vanity, Eric said, “I can do my own hair, ya know.”

Grinning at his twin in the vanity mirror, Kaidan shook his head and said, “Bullshit. If it wasn’t for me, your hair would be a mess. I swear sometimes it looks messier than Professor Potter’s.”

“I rather like Professor Potter’s hair.”

“Well, I guess its okay in an ‘I just woke up and don’t care what I look like,’ way but you need to put in a little more effort when you’re going on a date. Especially when it’s with the Scamander twins who are only the most desired boys at school by both the girls and the guys.”

Eric sighed. “You’re right. Work your magic, Kaid.”

Nothing more was said as Kaidan began applying gel to his brother’s hair and running a comb through it until it had a nice tousled look that was similar to his own, only with the bangs going in the opposite direction.

Finishing up, Kaidan looked at Eric’s hair and said, “Hmm, it’s missing something,” as he tapped his chin for a second. He must have figured it out because after a moment he pulled out his wand and muttered a spell that Eric couldn’t hear. He could see the results, however, as highlights in a shade of pink that was a bit darker than his shirt appeared in his hair.

“Perfect,” Kaidan pronounced as he surveyed his handiwork.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit much?” Eric asked. “I mean I know Lorcan likes the color, but in my hair?”

Before Kaidan could answer, the twins’ five-year-old half-brother Xander walked into the room and said, “I’m bored. Play with me.”

A second later, he burst into giggles upon seeing Eric’s hair and said, “What did you do to your hair?”

“See I look ridiculous, Kaid. Take them out.”

Shaking his head, Kaidan said, “No, you look sexy. Xander doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Do too,” Xander retorted as he started giggling more.

When Kaidan made no move to remove the highlights, Eric pulled out his own wand and tried to do it himself. Unfortunately since he hadn’t heard what spell Kaidan had used and hairstyling charms weren’t exactly something he was good at, the results were less than ideal.

Xander had sat down on the floor and was outright laughing now. He honestly looked like he was seconds away from literally rolling around on the floor laughing, as Kaidan pushed Eric’s wand arm away from his hair and said, “Eric, stop! You’re making it worse.”

“Well fix it then!”

Shaking his head, Kaidan said, “I’ll try but that spell you used? Totally the wrong one. It’s meant to dye cloth not hair.”

Waving his wand in a complicated pattern and muttering a spell, Kaidan managed to undo the worst of the damage. Then pointing his wand at the bookshelf, he said, “ ** _Accio!_** ” as a copy of Chadwick’s Charms Volume Four floated off the shelf and into Kaidan’s awaiting hand.

Temporarily putting away his wand, Kaidan placed his hand on Eric’s back and pushed him forward a bit so that he could use his back as a desk. Opening the book and flipping through pages, he finally shook his head and said, “Just as I thought. Chadwick warns that the Cloth-Dyeing Charm should never be used on hair. I’m not going to be able to get the color out completely, bro. It’ll go away on its own though.”

“How long?”

“About a week, maybe two,” Kaidan answered. “For now, I can try to do something to make your hair look less like a multi-colored disaster… but I’m not going to be able to completely remove the color.”

Eric groaned. When Xander continued laughing, however, his groan turned into a growl as he barked out, “What are you still doing here, squirt?”

Eric’s tone made Xander stop laughing. “Waiting for you to play with me.”

“We don’t have time!” Eric said. “Go bother the Dads.”

“But I want you to play with me!”

“We’ve got dates in less than half-an-hour,” Kaidan said. “But I’m sure our dads will play with you.”

Xander looked mad. “I’m telling! You’re being mean!”

“No, don’t do that,” Eric said, afraid that Whitney and Jason might not let them go on their date if their son tattled on them. A bit desperately, Eric reached into his pocket and pulled out one of the dragots that Whitney had given him. “Promise me not to say anything and I’ll give you a dragot.”

Xander’s eyes widened as he thought about all the candy he could buy with a whole dragot… after a moment, he held out his hand and said, “Deal. Give!”

Placing the dragot in his little brother’s hand, Xander smiled and left the room. Kaidan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xander going into his bedroom instead of say towards the kitchen.

“Now fix this!” Eric said, gesturing to his hair.

A few minutes later, Kaidan sighed and said, “Well, that’s the best I can do.”

Eric’s hair was now mostly brown instead of black, with a few barely visible dark pink highlights that were several shades darker than what Kaidan had originally put in. But the damage Eric had caused was mostly fixed… or at least disguised.

Eric sighed in relief as he looked at his hair. It looked a lot better than it had a few minutes ago.

Glancing at his bedside clock, Kaidan said, “We should go if we’re going to head off the twins before they ring the bell.”

Eric nodded as he got up and left the room. As they passed the kitchen, Kaidan moved behind Eric so that his hair wouldn’t be immediately visible if Jason or Whitney looked up as they passed. Much to Eric’s displeasure, Kaidan was taller than him. It was only by about an inch and a half, but Kaidan never missed an opportunity to rub it in Eric’s face… much like how Eric never missed an opportunity to point out that he was the older brother.

Opening the front door and heading outside, Kaidan had barely closed the door as a bright purple taxi cab appeared out of nowhere two houses down and slowed to a stop in front of Isis House. As Eric and Kaidan came down the front walk, the rear passenger window went down and they could see their dates sitting in the backseat.

Pulling open the passenger door, Eric got in first, followed by Kaidan, and positioned themselves so that Eric was sitting next to Lorcan and Kaidan next to Lysander. “Hey guys.”

“Hey,” the Scamander twins said in unison, as Eric pulled the door closed.

The partition between the driver and passenger area went down at this point to reveal an older man wearing thick glasses. There were also a pair of shrunken heads hanging from the rearview mirror. “Where to?”

“Greylock Village,” Eric said after a second of thought. This time of year, with Ilvermorny closed for the summer, the village wouldn’t be as busy as some other places would be, like the magical district in Salem, and that suited Eric just fine. Less potential interruptions to take away from his Lorcan time.

The driver nodded and turned to face the front of the cab again as the partition began going up and there was a chorus of “Buckle up,” from the shrunken heads. Fastening their seat belts, Eric and Kaidan then stretched their arms which a moment later ended up draped over the shoulders of the Scamander twins, who grinned.

“So, I like your hair, Eric,” Lorcan said as he placed his hand on Eric’s knee and patted it.

“Really?”

Lorcan nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s pretty cool. Lysander and I have been thinking about getting some highlights, but we didn’t have the guts to try it in case it didn’t turn out well.”

“I suggest you let Kaid hook you up,” Eric said, as he leaned past the twins a bit to grin at this brother. “He’s a genius with hairstyling charms.”

Kaidan blushed a bit, as Lysander asked, “So you did Eric’s hair?”

“Yeah,” Kaidan said. “You really think it’s cool?”

“I do indeed,” Lysander confirmed, as he leaned over and placed a quick peck on the side of Kaidan’s head, just above his ear.

“Well, just let me know what you’re thinking of and I’ll see what I can do,” Kaidan said.

The Scamanders nodded, but didn’t say anything else, as the car came to an abrupt stop. As the partition went down again, the driver said, “Greylock Village,” and the heads chorused, “That’ll be two and a half dragots.”

“We’ve got the fare,” Lorcan said, as Lysander nodded and pulled out his money pouch, pulling out the necessary coins and passing them through the partition to the driver.

With the fare paid, Eric opened the door and got out, followed by Lorcan, Lysander, and Kaidan. Seconds after Kaidan closed the door, the cab drove off, going about twenty feet before it disappeared with a soft pop.

“So where to?” Lysander asked.

“We were thinking Ilverlock Lanes,” Eric said.

The Scamanders nodded, as they each wrapped their arm around their dates and said, in unison, “Sounds good, let’s go.”

After a few minutes’ walk down the main street of Greylock, the foursome turned down a side street and entered the building that housed the bowling alley. As they entered, Kaidan asked, “So, should we play first or get something to eat?”

“Maybe something we can eat at the lane?” Lorcan suggested.

“Nachos maybe?” Eric asked, and since his parents had been a health food kick lately, he asked, “Or burgers and fries?”

Lysander grinned. “Nachos sound good.” He hesitated a moment, before he said, “Maybe cheeseburgers and chili-cheese fries?”

Kaidan grinned. “Sounds great to me. Haven’t had a cheeseburger in months.”

Eric nodded. “Yeah the ‘rents are on a health food kick.”

Lorcan nodded. “Same here, actually. Although in our case it’s the grandparents. Our ‘rents are out of the country on one of their creature expeditions in Australia.”

As the group headed towards the snack bar, Kaidan asked, “Why didn’t you go with them?”

Lysander answered, “We didn’t feel like it this summer. We’ve been to the Australian outback several times and while Mum and Dad like the whole roughing it in the middle of nowhere thing, Lorcan and I don’t care for it much.”

Lorcan nodded, before he grinned and added, “Plus, we had other reasons to stay stateside this summer.”

“Really? Like what?”

Lorcan grinned, as he locked eyes with Eric and said, “I’m looking at one of them.”

“You stayed in town because of me?” Eric asked, stammering slightly because he couldn’t believe that Lorcan just said that.

“Mmhm,” Lorcan said, as he gave Eric a one-armed hug.

Lysander blushed a bit, as he said, “We’ve sort of had crushes on you two for a few months… since before your birthdays, but we didn’t do anything about it.”

“Figured we should at least wait until you were teenagers,” Lorcan said. “But then after your birthdays, we chickened out. Finally one of our roommates at school who’s also our best friend said we should just ask or he would on our behalf because he was sick of hearing us moon over you.”

Kaidan grinned. “Well, I think I can safely speak for Eric when I say that we’re both happy you finally asked. Because the crushing is definitely mutual.”

Lorcan and Lysander smiled, but said nothing else as they got to the front of the line at the snack bar. Once they’d placed their orders and paid for them, Eric headed over to rent a lane, while Kaidan went to the equipment rental desk, leaving the Scamanders to handle the food and drinks.

-o-0-o-

Over in Metropolis, Connor and Roy each now had a controller in their hands as they played a local co-op game with Robbie. Chloe and Bruce were chatting with Lois and Andrew, while Clark and Oliver headed back into the kitchen to finish preparing lunch. They’d just finished when the buzzer sounded again.

“I’ll get it,” Bruce said, as he stood and headed over to open the elevator gate. When he did, he found Martha Kent, her father, William Clark, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, Arthur ‘A.C.’ Curry, and Dinah Lance.

As the six of them got out of the elevator, Martha said, “Diana, Todd, Damon, and Dick are waiting downstairs, but we couldn’t all fit in the elevator at the same time.”

Bruce nodded as he closed the gate so that the elevator could go back down to collect the others and it returned a few moments later with Diana Prince, Todd Rice, Damon Matthews-Rice, and Dick Grayson.

“Hey everyone,” Clark said with a smile, as he came out of the kitchen. After hugging his mother and shaking hands with his grandfather, Bart grinned and said, “Mi amigo! Enjoy Paris?”

Oliver came out of the kitchen as Clark smiled and answered, “Yeah, Bart, I did.”

“So, is blondie’s bedroom prowess on the same level as his good looks?”

Connor groaned and Oliver blushed, as Clark grinned and answered, “Yes, Bart, it is, but details will have to wait, because I’m afraid my stepson is nearing wanting to rip his ears off his head.”

“We passed that point a long time ago, step-daddy-dearest,” Connor said, as he put down his controller. Roy and Robbie kept playing.

“I thought I told you to call me Clark?” The brunet asked, as he raised an eyebrow at Connor.

“Other than it being scary when you do that because you remind me of my Dad,” Connor said in reference to Clark’s tone and raised eyebrow, “I’ll call you Clark just as soon as you and Dad stop discussing your sex life in my earshot. I’m sure it’s great, but as I’m sure you can understand I really don’t want to hear the details of my Dad’s sex life.”

“Well, I can understand that,” Clark said, smiling as Martha and William each handed a bag containing two boxes to Oliver. The mere thought of his Mom having sex with anyone, even if his father was still alive, was enough to send chills down his back and make him a bit queasy.

“Is this what I think it is?” Oliver asked with a grin as he took the two bags.

“Homemade apple pie,” Martha said, smiling when several people in the room fist pumped and mouthed the word, ‘ ** _Yes!_** ’ Martha Kent’s pie was practically famous, after all.

With a grin, Connor said, “Honestly, Mrs. Kent, if the whole Senator thing doesn’t work out, you should open a bakery… you’d have a line of customers around the block.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Connor,” Martha said as she grinned and shook her head. “And you’re now officially my step-grandson, so don’t call me Mrs. Kent.”

“Grandma, then?” Connor asked, as he came over.

“Yes, perfect,” Martha answered, as she pulled him into a hug.

While still hugging Martha, Connor looked over her shoulder at her father and asked, “Um, what should I call you?”

William smiled. “Well, great-grandfather is kind of a mouthful, so how about you just call me what Robbie calls me?”

“Papa Will? Okay,” Connor said, as he removed one hand from Martha’s back and shook hands with William.

“So, what’s this little get together about?” Diana asked.

“What, we can’t invite our closest friends and family over for lunch without having ulterior motives?” Oliver asked, as he stepped back into the main room, after putting the pies in the refrigerator.

Shaking his head, Dick replied, “Considering that you told us that if we didn’t show up, Clark would come and abduct us, I’d say there has to be something more to it than just lunch.”

“Yeah, so, what’s up guys?” A.C. asked.

“Why don’t we eat first and then we can talk,” Clark suggested.

“No complaints here,” Bart said with a grin.

Having finally got Robbie to shut off the PS4, Roy came over with Robbie at this point, as he said, “Raise your hand if you’re not surprised that Bart is thinking with his stomach again.”

Roy raised his hand, along with everyone else in the room, including Bart himself.

-o-0-o-

After lunch, which consisted of almost everyone enjoying a sandwich, some chips, the fruit salad that Oliver made, and a slice of Martha’s apple pie everyone then sat around for about half an hour longer in awe as they watched Bart eat ten times more than all of them combined.

“Are you finally finished?” Dinah asked, as Bart picked up a napkin and wiped his face.

“Yeah, I am,” Bart said with a smile.

“I know I’ve asked this before,” Diana said, “but where do you put it? You eat enough food to feed a small country on a daily basis and you don’t gain any weight.”

“I have a very fast metabolism,” Bart said. “You try running faster than the speed of light and see how fast you burn off calories.”

“Clark doesn’t eat as much as you do, Bart,” Dinah said, “and he can run fast too.”

“Nowhere near as fast as me though,” Bart said with a grin. “Clark may be faster than a speeding bullet, but, as he’ll tell you himself, I’m faster than he is. For example, he can’t run over water, while I’m fast enough that I can.”

“True, I can’t run over water,” Clark said with a grin. “I prefer to just fly over it.”

“Flying is cool isn’t it Clark?” Todd asked with a knowing grin.

“Yeah, it is,” Clark said as he gave Todd a high five. While it was true that at one time Clark had been afraid of heights and thus flew as little as possible, at this point, years of being Superman had allowed him to get over that fear.

“I’d agree with that too,” Oliver said, as he smiled at his husband. “Obviously I can’t fly, but Clark has taken me up a few times. It’s exhilarating.” In his head, since his seven-year-old son was in the room, he added, **_‘Especially when we literally do it in the clouds.’_**

Of course this thought had him crossing his legs when he found himself getting hard as he remembered some of the times that Clark took them both flying completely naked and they had sex in the clouds. Clark, of course, noticed the crossing of Oliver’s legs and had little trouble guessing where his blond husband’s thoughts had just gone. Shaking his head, he leant over and kissed Oliver’s ear.

“Okay, so, what was the purpose of this get together?” Todd asked. “Does it have anything to do with baldie’s big announcement?”

“Baldie’s big announcement?” Bart asked, with a look of complete confusion on his face.

“Do you live under a rock, Bart?” Damon asked.

“No, I don’t, but what’s this about an announcement?” Bart asked in response.

“He’s running for President next year, Bart,” Diana replied.

“President?” Bart asked, a look of horror on his face. “As in of the country?”

“Yes, Bart,” Andrew said. “Scary isn’t it?”

“Scary?” A.C. asked. “Scary is an understatement. I don’t think there’s enough words in the English language to accurately describe just how terrifying the idea of Lex Luthor as President of the United States truly is.”

Oliver nodded. “Yes, it is indeed a very scary prospect,” as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a small remote control. “Anyway, before I answer your question, there’s a few more people who need to join this little pow-wow.”

Pressing the button, a large television screen descended from the ceiling and split into two screens full of static. After a moment, however, a pair of video links appeared, one showing two men, and the other five men.

“Hey guys. Can you all hear me okay?” Oliver asked.

“You’re coming in loud and clear, Oliver,” Adrian Wilcox, the Chairman of the Queen Industries Board of Directors said from his seat at the head of the board room table at the Star City corporate headquarters. The others in the room—which consisted of Co-Chief Executive Officers James Mitchell and Matthew Wellert, Chief Operating Officer Noah Wellert, and Chief Information Officer Andrew Wilcox—all nodded their heads in agreement.

“We can hear you, too, Oliver,” Alan Scott, the Senior Vice President of Queen Industries New York Operations said from the other video feed. His husband, Second Circuit Judge Nathaniel Scott, nodded.

“Okay, as I’m sure you all know,” Oliver began, before grinning at Bart and adding, “unless like Bart you simply don’t pay attention to the news,” Bart smirked at this, “Lex Luthor appeared on Good Morning America recently and announced that he’d be running for President of the United States next year.”

There were several nods at this, in both Oliver and Clark’s loft and from the two video feeds. Before anyone could comment, however, Oliver said, “I’ve talked about it with Clark and I’ve come to a decision.” Looking at Connor for a moment, he said, “And those of you who work for Queen Industries will have to continue abiding by the Non-Disclosure Agreements you all signed not to tell me anything about QI business… because I’m going to run against Lex to be the next President of the United States.”

-o-0-o-

After eating while bowling three games, Eric, Kaidan, Lorcan, and Lysander decided they’d had enough and left Ilverton Lanes. They walked around Greylock for a little while after that, doing a little window shopping and stopping in at Honeyduke’s Sweetshop and Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes—both of which had expanded internationally in the last decade or so—and bought a few items, they decided it was time to head back to Salem.

Calling for the cab, the four teens got into the backseat and told the driver—a middle-aged woman this time who didn’t have any shrunken heads hanging from her rear-view mirror—where they were going and they were soon off. When they arrived at Isis House, the driver didn’t put down the partition to collect a fare, as it had been arranged in Greylock that they’d be making two stops, the first being Isis House, and the other being Casa Scamander. Thus the driver wasn’t going to see the fare until they’d arrived at the second destination.

“I had a great time today,” Eric said to Lorcan, almost at the same time that Kaidan said the same to Lysander.

“Same here,” the twins said in unison, before leaning towards their respective dates and kissing them softly on the lips.

They were still kissing a couple minutes later—closed mouths with no tongues—when they jolted apart following somebody knocking on the passenger side window on Eric’s side of the car.

Whispering a prayer to himself that it wasn’t one of his dads or Jason, Eric pressed the button to lower the window and let out a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding when it was Schuyler he found standing outside the car.

“What do you want, Sky?” Eric asked, annoyed. “I’m trying to say goodbye to my boyfriend.”

“Yeah, Sky, you just interrupted a very nice kiss,” Kaidan added. “So this damn well better be important.”

“Say goodbye to them later,” Schuyler said. “The ‘rents know you’re here and they told me to tell you and I quote, ‘all four of them need to get their butts inside the house now or Eric and Kaidan are grounded for a month.’ So, I suggest you all get moving, because they all had the ‘we’re not kidding’ looks on their faces.”

“Who’s gonna pay for the cab?” Kaidan asked. “I don’t want Lysander and his brother to get stuck with a huge fare for having the cab wait out here while the ‘rents grill them.”

“I already took care of it,” Schuyler said. “I’ll even be nice and not make you pay me back… I’ll just get you cheaper Christmas presents.”

Eric and Kaidan grumbled a bit, but then sighed, before Eric asked, “So, Lorcan, Lysander, you want to save us from spending practically the rest of the summer grounded and meet the parents?”

Lorcan and Lysander were quiet for a moment, before they nodded and said in unison, “Sure.” Before Lorcan said, “We’d only be hurting ourselves if we didn’t after all,” as Lysander added, “because we wouldn’t be able to see you for a month.”

Closing the window, Eric opened the car door a moment later and stepped out of the car, turning only to collect his shopping bags, before moving aside so that the Scamanders could exit the car. Kaidan, meanwhile, got out on the street side of the car and walked around the back of the cab to join the others.

“Don’t look so down,” Schuyler said, as he looked at Eric and Kaidan. “You two look like you’re going off to your execution.”

“Easy for you to say,” Eric said.

“Yeah, you haven’t had a date in how long?” Kaidan asked.

“Ouch,” Schuyler said. “Cheaper birthday presents too.”

Shaking their heads, the Scamander twins looked a bit amused, as Lorcan said, “Guys, relax. It’ll be fine. I’m sure your parents aren’t going to kill you and if Lysander and I can charm an erumpent back into great-granddad’s case—without a ridiculous looking mating dance—than we can handle your parents.”

“Mating dance with an erumpent?” Schuyler asked. “On second thought I don’t want to know.”

As the cab drove down the street and disappeared, Schuyler led his brothers and their boyfriends up the front walk and into the house. Schuyler was taller than the others and walked a bit faster, so he entered the living room quicker than the others.

“Are they coming?” Landon asked.

“They’re right behind me,” Schuyler said, and as if on cue, Eric and Kaidan walked into the room, standing almost protectively in front of Lorcan and Lysander.

Noticing this, Whitney shook his head. “Eric, Kaidan, we’re not going to hurt them.”

“Unless they hurt either of you,” Landon said, “but if or until that happens, they’ve got nothing to worry about from us.”

Jason nodded, a grin on his face, as he said, “Yeah, guys, they just want to meet them and ask them a few questions. Make sure they’re good enough for you.”

“Can’t we be the judges of that?” Eric asked, as Kaidan nodded emphatically.

“When you’re older, yes,” Whitney said. “When you’re thirteen and still living under my roof? No.”

Eric and Kaidan sighed before they moved to stand next to their boyfriends, and said in unison, “Dads, Jason, meet Lorcan and Lysander Scamander… our boyfriends.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Messrs. Lang, Fordman, and Teague,” the Scamanders said in perfect unison.

“Well, they’re certainly polite,” Jason commented more or less to himself.

Landon raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say this was only your second date? A little early to be calling them your boyfriends isn’t it?”

“It’s a word, Dad,” Kaidan said. “They’re boys and they’re our friends. So boyfriends.”

Landon rolled his eyes. “I know it’s a word, son.” With a grin he added, “In case you somehow didn’t notice, I’ve got two of them myself.”

Eric and Kaidan both looked at the floor, and covered their eyes with one hand, before rolling their eyes. Both thinking, **_‘Yeah Dad, we noticed. We’re not blind or stupid.’_**

“Okay, take a seat, all of you,” Jason said. “And stop rolling your eyes behind your hands, Eric, Kaid.” Turning to Schuyler, he added, “You can go get back to your paper, Sky.”

“Thanks, Jase,” Schuyler said, as he cast a look at his step-brothers and their boyfriends that was almost sympathetic. “Later guys.”

“So,” Landon said, after the two sets of twins were seated on the sofa. “I have to ask… are Eric and Kaidan dating both of you? Or just one each?”

Before any of the twins could answer, Whitney groaned and said, “Okay, Lan, I get why you asked that, but it’s their first relationship. I think one each is plenty.” Turning to the two duos on the sofa, he added, “It is one each, right?”

It was Eric’s and Kaidan’s turn to groan now, while Lysander turned to his brother, silently asking, **_‘You want to take this one or should I?’_**

“Yes, it’s one each,” Lorcan answered. “Despite our obvious closeness, Lysander and I have never shared a boyfriend.” Silently he added, **_‘at least not yet anyway,’_** because at only fifteen he wasn’t prepared to rule anything out.

“And what are your intentions regarding our sons?” Landon asked. “Because, I have to admit that I’m not sure I’m comfortable with my thirteen-year-old sons dating.” Holding up his hand, he added, “And yes, Eric, Kaid, I understand that you’re only one year younger than I was when your Dad and I got together and that the age difference between us is twice as much as it is between you and your… friends… but my discomfort stands.”

“We were in your shoes once,” Whitney said. “And we understand that from your end, it doesn’t seem like that much, especially considering that your Dad and I were further apart. But, at your ages that difference is a lot more pronounced then it would be if you were older. And I don’t just mean if you were fourteen instead of thirteen.”

“I didn’t understand Aunt Nell’s concern when I was fourteen,” Landon said. “But now, looking back on it, I can understand why she was concerned. Especially now that I’m a parent.”

“If you’re worried that we’re going to get pregnant,” Kaidan said. “You can stop worrying.”

Eric nodded. “We’re both virgins and we plan to stay that way.” Shaking his head, he said, “We’ve only been on two dates, after all. We’re not gonna start shagging after only a week together.”

“Language, young man!” Whitney chastised. “And you two? You’re older. Are you okay with what Eric just said?”

Lorcan and Lysander nodded, before Lysander said, “We’re fine with it, sir, because we agree. Lorcan and I are both virgins too and have no intention of that changing. Mum and Dad would kill us.”

“Speaking of your parents, how do they feel about this relationship?” Landon asked.

“They don’t know yet,” Lorcan answered.

“Why haven’t you told them?” Whitney asked.

“Because we thought that was something better shared in person,” Lysander replied. “Mum and Dad are in the Australian outback on one of their creature expeditions. They won’t be back until the week before we start back at Ilvermorny.”

“They left a pair of fifteen-year-olds home alone?” Jason asked.

Shaking his head, Lorcan said, “No, Dad’s parents, Grandpa Perseus and Grandma Jillian Scamander, are at home with us. And Mum’s dad, Grandpa Xenophilius Lovegood, Floos over from his home in Devon in England twice a week for dinner.”

“So, are your parents frequently out of the country then?” Landon asked.

“A fair amount, yes,” Lorcan replied. “Great-grandpa Newt is too old to travel these days and Grandpa Perseus didn’t follow in his footsteps as a magizoologist. So, Dad does the travelling around the world for the updated edition of _‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’_ that he’s co-writing with Great-grandpa.”

Lysander nodded. “Yeah, it’s sort of the family business. Mum goes with Dad because she wants to make sure he comes home safe and what better way to do that then go with him herself?”

“I’m not sure I’d want Lan or Whit with me if I was going off on a potentially dangerous expedition,” Jason said. “I think I’d be too afraid for their safety and that it would distract me.”

“Mum and Dad work really well, together,” Lorcan said. “Besides Mum is more than capable of defending herself. She learned defensive magic from Harry Potter himself and after finishing Hogwarts, she went on to get Masteries in both Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts. As part of the former, she worked with Hebridean Black dragons for a year, and spent a year on the professional dueling circuit for the latter.”

“Yeah, so trust me,” Lysander said, “you don’t want to go up against Luna Scamander… especially if you’ve made her mad. She’s bloody terrifying.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Chapter Three of ‘The Battle of the Billionaires.’ So next chapter will be reactions from Oliver’s family and friends about his plans to run for President… and he’ll probably announce publicly. Any suggestions on how he should do that? Let me know.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson (dot) vascardi.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relate to Harry Potter or Smallville are the property of their respective creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured in the officially licensed material, whether it be television, films, books, etc.
> 
> Main Pairings: Clark Kent/Oliver Queen, Harry Potter/Seamus Finnigan
> 
> Other Pairings: Landon Lang/Whitney Fordman/Jason Teague, Lorcan Scamander/OMC: Eric Fordman-Lang, Lysander Scamander/OMC: Kaidan Fordman-Lang
> 
> Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Violence, Language, Politics, Religion, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Character Death, Mpreg, Male Lana Lang

The Battle of the Billionaires  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

_Previously in ‘The Battle of the Billionaires’…_

-o-0-o-

Landon visits Harry’s house for the first time and tells him about Clark Kent-Queen, the uncanny resemblance between them, and the likeliness that Clark’s face will soon be all over the news when Oliver announces his candidacy for President.

Eric and Kaidan Fordman-Lang get ready for their dates with Lorcan and Lysander Scamander. Kaidan does Eric’s hair and after some mishaps (Eric’s fault, not Kaidan’s) they leave on their date, opting to go bowling in Greylock, the village near Ilvermorny.

After lunch, Oliver tells everyone invited to his and Clark’s loft, in addition to the QI Executive Team that he’s running for President against Lex.

Arriving home from their date, Eric and Kaidan end up bring Lorcan and Lysander into the house to meet the parents to avoid spending practically the rest of the summer grounded.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Four

-o-0-o-

“And those of you who work for Queen Industries will have to continue abiding by the Non-Disclosure Agreements you all signed not to tell me anything about QI business… because I’m going to run against Lex to be the next President of the United States.”

Silence filled the room for what seemed to Oliver like several minutes but was probably less than a minute, two at the absolute most, as what he’d just said sunk in for those gathered, before finally Martha spoke up and asked, “Oliver, are you sure?”

“Yes,” Oliver said with conviction. “I cannot stand by and do nothing while Lex runs for President. If he were to win, well, I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Ollie, you do realize that it’s going to be a very tough sell, right?” Damon asked. “I mean, you’re gay.”

“You’re right, I am.”

“I think what my sexy other half means,” Todd said, as he paused to kiss Damon on the cheek, “is that running for President as an openly gay man is going to be a very tough sell. To be honest, I’m not sure the country is ready for it.”

“That’s what many people said in 2008 when Obama ran,” Victor commented. “There were plenty of people who thought the country wasn’t ready for a black President and yet he still won. I still think he should be on his second term now, instead of that asshole O’Donnell.”

“Victor!” Clark said as he covered Robbie’s ears. “Watch your language in front of my seven-year-old!”

“Dad, you know I’ve heard worse at school right?” Robbie asked. “Bored rich kids have dirty mouths.”

Oliver sighed. “He is, unfortunately, correct.”

“I’m sorry, Clark,” Victor said, looking truly apologetic. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Thanks,” Clark said as he removed his hands from Robbie’s ears. “And as for you, young man, don’t ever let me hear you say that word or any other swear word. Got it?”

Robbie nodded. “Yes, Dad.”

Turning to Lois, who was muttering under her breath, Clark said, “That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try, Lois,” after a moment, he added, “Super hearing, remember?”

“You’d think after all these years, I’d remember that,” Lois said.

“Yes,” Clark agreed with a nod, as he turned back to Robbie and said, “And in case that wasn’t enough of a reminder… don’t think that just because I’m not in the room that I won’t know, Robert Jonathan Kent-Queen.”

“Yes, Dad, I get it!” Robbie exclaimed, as he crossed his arms and pouted. Clearly more than a bit exasperated with having an over-protective super-powered alien for a parent. “No swearing.”

“Are you going to go back into the closet, Oliver?” Dinah asked.

“Nope,” Oliver said. “Not like I could even if I wanted to which I don’t. Between my millions of Twitter and Instagram followers, the fact that I made no secret of the fact that I was gay and dating Clark while I was Governor, and now our marriage being a matter of public record… I can’t imagine that going back into the closet would work well.”

“And how do you feel about this, Clark?” Martha asked.

“I’m okay with it,” Clark answered. “I’ll admit I did have my reservations, because I don’t much like the spotlight, but, I like the thought of Lex as President even less. Oliver and I discussed it and I told him to run, just so long as he doesn’t expect me to be the First Lady.”

Bart laughed at that and said, “What’s wrong Clark? Don’t think you’d look good in drag?”

“That would be a definite no,” Clark said, as he reached over and playfully hit Bart upside the head.

“What about the League?” Bruce asked. “Running for president is time-consuming work, which is going to take away from your patrolling time. Can’t you just pick another person to back financially?”

“Well, Bruce, it’s not like I’ve been patrolling that much while I was Governor,” Oliver pointed out. “Clark, Connor, and Roy all went out as the Green Arrow every now and then so that people wouldn’t think he disappeared and I still went out occasionally on weekends if I wasn’t busy or too tired, but I’ve essentially been retired since my election as Governor.”

Bruce nodded. “That’s true, but when you decided not to seek a second term, we were all kind of hoping to get you back.”

“I know, but this is important too,” Oliver said. “I know what I stand for and I’m one of the few people who can afford to go toe to toe with Lex and have any hope. Do you honestly think that Jacob O’Donnell, even if the Republican Party continues backing him, will be able to compete with a multi-billionaire running for President? Lex can afford to spend way more money than they can even hope to raise.”

“Do you think Lex will run as a Republican?” Dick asked. “From his statements over the years, I’d say his stances are probably a better fit for the Libertarians. Of course, their chances of winning an election are slim to nil, just like the Green Party’s, or any party other than the Republicans and Democrats, since the system is rigged in their favor and against everybody else.”

“I’m not sure what Lex will do,” Oliver said. “Although, I can see him at least trying to compete in the primaries against O’Donnell. If only because he’s smart enough to know that he stands a better chance of winning the election while not having to shell out as much of his own money if he’s got the backing of one of the two major parties. But, if they stick with O’Donnell… I wouldn’t put it past Lex to go third party and spend like crazy.”

Dinah nodded. “So are you going to run as an independent again, like you did for your gubernatorial run?”

“Probably, yes,” Oliver said. “If I could get the backing of the Democratic Party, I realize that I might have a better chance of winning, but I haven’t been a registered Democrat in years because of the increasingly corporate nature of many of the people in the party that has left me disillusioned with them. Many of them have a tendency to run right every time they lose or think that espousing Republican ideals is the only way they can win in certain areas. I don’t agree.”

Smiling at Lois, he added, “As you once said yourself Lois, I’m a bleeding heart liberal.”

“Indeed you are, Oliver,” Lois agreed. “And I think we can all appreciate that you’re not going to change who you are in order to win an election. Even if it ends up costing you the election, you’ll stay true to your principles.”

“Yes, although for all our sakes,” Bruce said, “let’s hope that Oliver’s principles—which I fully support him staying true to—don’t cost him the election and we end up with Lex. That man doesn’t belong within a hundred miles of the White House.”

-o-0-o-

Later that evening, after everyone else had gone home, Clark and Oliver were in the kitchen cleaning up from the party, figuring that they’d then go upstairs and get an hour or two of sleep before going out on patrol. Once he actually announced his candidacy, Oliver knew he wouldn’t have time to be Green Arrow anymore and he wanted to patrol at least one more time before hanging it up, potentially forever, since he knew that if he did become President, it was highly unlikely that he’d be able to patrol any longer because the Secret Service would never allow it.

When the buzzer went off to signal that someone was waiting in the elevator, Oliver said, “I’ll get it, Clark.”

“Okay,” Clark said with a smile as he placed a quick kiss on Oliver’s cheek as the blond walked past him heading for the living room.

Since it was rather late and he wasn’t expecting anybody, Oliver pressed a button on his remote to turn on the elevator’s security camera so that he could see who it was before he opened the gate. Grinning, he pressed the button to open the door as two men entered the loft.

“Colin, Ethan,” Oliver said with a smile. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“Well, we heard you’d come home and we thought that while we were in town we’d drop in,” Ethan said with a smile. “It’s been awhile since we’ve seen you.”

“That is has, although that’s not the only reason,” Colin added with a smile and a slight twinkle in his eyes that Oliver immediately noticed. Removing the backpack from his shoulder and swinging it back and forth on his left index finger for a moment, he asked, “Could I use your bathroom?”

“Sure,” Oliver said with a knowing grin. “You know where it is.”

Colin nodded his head and just as he disappeared into the bathroom, Clark walked into the room and asked, “Who was at the door, Ollie?”

Motioning towards Ethan, Oliver said, “Clark, you remember Ethan Hartford, right? The Head of Security at Queen Industries?”

“Yes,” Clark said with a smile as he extended his hand for Ethan to shake. “Nice to see you again, Ethan.”

“Nice to see you too, Clark,” Ethan said. “You’re a lucky man to have landed a stud like Oliver. If I didn’t already have one of my own, I’d have to steal him from you.”

“Good luck with that,” Clark said as he wrapped Oliver in a possessive embrace, the look on his face clearly saying, ‘try to take Ollie from me and you’ll regret it.’ The look didn’t last long, however, as Clark grinned because he knew that Ethan was only joking.

“You don’t have to worry, Clark,” Oliver said. “You’re the only man for me. Besides, Ethan has a boyfriend.”

“I didn’t know you were gay,” Clark said.

“Guilty as charged,” Ethan said with a grin. “I suppose I’m technically still in the closet, as I’ve never come out publicly and I act like I’m straight. I suppose some people in the community would view that as a betrayal, but I’m happy with my life and my boyfriend, who is just as straight-acting as I am, if not more so.”

“How long have you been with your boyfriend?” Clark asked.

“Ten years,” Ethan said. “Happiest ten years of my life.”

“Wow,” Clark said. “Do you think you’ll ever get married?”

Shaking his head, Ethan said, “No, I don’t. Work makes it impossible.”

“Why?” Clark asked, not understanding. “I know for a fact that QI has no problem with it.”

“It’s not my work that’s the problem,” Ethan said. “It’s Colin’s work that makes it impossible.”

“What does he do?” Clark asked.

“See for yourself,” Ethan said with a grin as he motioned to where Colin was standing behind Clark and Oliver, having just come out of the bathroom. He hadn’t gone in to use it—only to change clothes.

Turning around, Clark’s mouth dropped open in shock. Standing before him was a very handsome man with black hair who was probably not much older than Oliver was, but what shocked Clark were his clothes.

“You’re a priest,” Clark said softly.

Colin grinned, “Guilty, although I’m actually the Cardinal Archbishop of Star City.”

“And you’re gay and have a boyfriend?” Clark asked. “Doesn’t your faith take a very dim view on such things?”

“Personally, my faith thinks there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it,” Colin said, as he walked over to Ethan and wrapped his arm around the other man’s waist. “True, the official stance of the Church says otherwise, but between you and me, they’re stuck in the past.”

“Yeah, the Dark Ages,” Ethan said with a grin, as he tilted his head to rest it on Colin’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the stuffed shirts in Rome still think that the Earth is flat and that the sun and all the planets revolve around it.”

Colin shook his head and grinned. “Eth, if we were in public I’d have to condemn you for such comments, though in private I have to say I agree. Just don’t try to quote me on that, because I’ll have to deny it.”

"So, what brings you guys here tonight?" Clark asked.

“I thought I’d drop in and offer something to the two of you,” Colin answered. “Something that you’ll have to keep quiet about yourselves and not share with anyone who you don’t have complete faith and trust in. The reason being that I would be in a lot of trouble if Rome found out I even made the offer.”

Oliver’s eyes widened slightly as he asked, “Colin, are you offering to bless Clark’s and my marriage?”

“I am,” Colin said. “Needless to say that blessing a same-sex marriage would not make me popular in the Curia or with the current Pope, as the doctrine is clear on this. I personally believe the doctrine is wrong, but as a Cardinal I have a better chance of affecting change from within than I would without the status.”

“Perhaps, but unlikely unless you actually become the Pope yourself,” Oliver said.

“Well, it is from among the Cardinals that the Pope is chosen,” Colin said. “Although, I’m not really ready to think of such things at the moment. I did have to go to Rome for the conclave that elected the current Pope when Benedict stepped down, but I don’t imagine that I’ll be elevated to the papacy anytime soon.”

“Well, Pius is seventy-six, so it’s not likely that he’ll have a long papacy,” Ethan pointed out. “Certainly not as long as Jean-Paul II’s, who was only in his fifties when he was elevated.”

“True, but I’m not going to worry about such things,” Colin said. “If it happens at some point, I’ll deal with it then. It’s hard enough to explain why we live together, Ethan. The majority buy the fact that we’re childhood friends and roommates who decided to cohabitate. If it wasn’t for the photographic proof that we’ve known each other since you were five and I was six, more people might not believe it, but I’m not complaining.” Grinning he added, “But, I think me moving you into the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City would be a lot harder to explain.”

After a moment of silence, Colin shook his head, and said, “So, do you guys want the blessing?”

“I’m not particularly religious,” Clark admitted. “Although, I know Ollie was an altar boy.”

“Yeah, that was Mom’s idea,” Oliver said. “I stuck with it for a few years after she died, mainly because I knew it was important to her. Although I’m not really a practicing Catholic. I pray and spend at least a few minutes each Sunday in the private chapel at Queen Manor, but I haven’t been to mass in years.”

“If you don’t want the blessing, that’s fine,” Colin said. “I knew it was a long-shot, but I figured I’d still make the offer.” With a smirk, he added, “I know you’re not particularly religious, Ollie, as I got to know you quite well at Excelsior.”

Clark’s eyes widened at this. “How well?” Turning to Oliver, he asked, “Oliver, did you have sex with a priest?”

“He wasn’t a priest then!” Oliver exclaimed.

“Indeed, I wasn’t,” Colin confirmed. “I was a student at Excelsior, on a full scholarship. I was three years ahead of Oliver when he started and the school assigned me as his mentor so to speak. Basically it was my job to show him around and answer any questions that he had. A friendship bloomed out of that, which eventually led to me taking Oliver’s virginity. After that we were basically friends with benefits for two years until I graduated.”

“You were at Excelsior for five years?” Clark asked.

“Actually, he was there longer than that,” Oliver supplied. “Excelsior has both an upper and lower school. The lower school being for students between the ages of seven and thirteen, while the upper school is for those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Of course, a lot of students finish at seventeen, but some, Colin included, opted to take full AP loads and stay an extra year.” Grinning at Colin, he asked, “To this day I wonder if the ability to get into my pants basically whenever he wanted had anything to do with it.”

“I’m not going to lie and say that it had nothing to do with my decision to stay an extra year,” Colin said. “Although I was already planning on doing it before I even met you, Ollie. You just ended up being a very welcome side benefit of staying longer.”

“Anyway, to make a long story short,” Oliver said, “Colin’s and my relationship ended after he finished Excelsior and he enrolled in college. I opted not to stay an extra year and decided to take a gap year before starting college, which is when I got marooned for a year. Colin and I were together only one time after that, as when I finally made it back to civilization, Colin was very happy to see me, because he’d thought I was dead. However, nothing happened beyond that one-night because by that point, Colin had switched his major from History to Theology and was planning to attend seminary after college.”

“We remained friends, however,” Colin said. “And I spoke at and provided blessings at both of Oliver’s inaugurations, first as Mayor of Star City and later as Governor of California. I wasn’t a Cardinal yet for either of them, let alone Archbishop of Star City, but I did have permission from my immediate superiors in the Star City dioceses. Whether anyone in Rome knew or cared, I couldn’t say. All I know is that Benedict made me a Cardinal before he retired, so I assume that he didn’t realize how not conservative I am.”

Ethan smirked. “Well, being a Doctor of Theology probably hasn’t hurt your rise through the ranks. Most people probably figure that if you spend enough time to get a high level research degree that you must be committed to the faith and its doctrine.”

“I guess, but we all know that’s not true,” Colin said, as the other three men in the room laughed in agreement.

Colin and Ethan left about half-an-hour later, but Clark and Oliver did opt to have the blessing, even if neither of them was particularly religious. While they knew they couldn’t tell many people about it, they did find a certain appeal to the knowledge that they’d be one of the few same-sex couples to have their marriages blessed by a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. Which was something that very few if any others could claim.

-o-0-o-

After Landon left his house, Harry sat quietly in the living room for several minutes as he thought about everything that he’d just learned from his co-worker. It was in this state of deep, silent contemplation that Seamus—who’d been out running errands—found Harry when he returned about twenty minutes after Landon’s departure.

“You’re deep in thought,” Seamus said, as he sat down in Harry’s lap and kissed him on the lips to get his attention.

Harry smiled into the kiss, as he wrapped an arm around his husband’s waist and pulled him a little bit closer. After a moment, they broke apart and Harry sighed. “You would be too considering.”

“Considering what?” Seamus asked, as he arched an eyebrow at Harry.

“I had a visit from Landon while you were gone,” Harry answered, before he went on to explain everything they’d talked about.

By the end of the explanation, Seamus’s eyes were wide. “You’re saying that there’s a No-Maj in California that looks like you and that he’s Landon’s ex?” Getting used to saying No-Maj instead of Muggle had been a challenge for both Harry and Seamus when they first immigrated to America, but now, after ten years, it was pretty much second nature.

Harry nodded. “Not exactly. He’s younger and doesn’t have my scar, but yeah. I was shocked when Landon showed me the picture. And if Jason is right about this Clark’s husband…”  


Seamus sighed and nodded. “Yes, we should definitely pack up and move to the house in Greylock. The kids probably won’t like it, but in this case, it’s probably the only option.”

Pulling out his wand, Seamus pointed it at his throat and mumbled, “Sonorus,” before he said, “Finn, Lily, Teddy come downstairs please.” When he heard the feet of his two children and godson on the stairs, he said, “Quietus,” before putting his wand away.

“Yeah, Dad?” Finn asked.

“I’m afraid you’re not going to like what I have to say,” Harry said.

“What is it, Daddy?” nine-year-old Lily asked, as she climbed onto Harry’s lap.

“We’re moving,” Harry said, deciding that there was no point in beating around the bush. “We’re going to be living in the house in Greylock for the foreseeable future.”

“Why?” Teddy asked.

“Because Harry can’t remain here in a non-magical neighborhood,” Seamus answered. “Professor Lang was here earlier and told Harry about his ex-boyfriend, Clark Kent, who looks like a younger version of Harry,” grinning at his husband he said, “Only without his adorable scar.”

Harry shook his head and smiled at the description, but said nothing, as Seamus continued. “Clark’s husband, Oliver Queen, is very likely to be announcing his candidacy for President of the United States soon.”

“So, we have to move because otherwise the neighbors will think Dad is Clark?” Finn asked, prompting both Harry and Seamus to nod. “But, what about all our friends? The house in Greylock doesn’t have electricity or internet.”

While Harry’s and Seamus’s house in the muggle section of Salem was magically shielded to allow for the electricity and internet to work around magic, the house in Greylock wasn’t. It was also pointless to shield it because the spells which hid Ilvermorny and Greylock from No-Maj view were so strong that no signal of a non-magical origin could pass through them. So, unless a power plant was built in Greylock itself, the village and the school would never have electricity, internet, or any of the other technological advances that were commonplace in the non-magical world.

“We’ll do the same thing we do for Teddy when he’s at Ilvermorny,” Seamus said, referring to the fact that Harry, Seamus, or Andromeda brought Teddy to their house in Salem once a week during the school year so that he could check and send email to his non-magical friends.

It wasn’t a perfect solution, as many of Teddy’s No-Maj friends had asked over the years why he seemed to have such terrible internet service that he only had once-a-week access for most of the year, but there wasn’t really anything he could tell them. Saying he was away at boarding school might have worked, but his friends would no doubt then ask where he went to school and he couldn’t tell them that.

Nor would he be able to explain why his boarding school didn’t have internet, which so many people in the non-magical world now thought of as an essential part of daily life. Thus, most of them would likely find it extremely hard to believe that any modern school would have no internet service, let alone no electricity.

“Perhaps with this recent development,” Andromeda said, as she walked into the living room from the kitchen, having overheard the conversation, “we can finally get permission from MACUSA to use the Gemini Charm on Teddy, Finn, and Lily. Then their doubles at least could remain here. Harry, Seamus you would remain in Greylock with the real ones, but I could remain here and keep an eye on the doubles.”

“Why hasn’t that spell ever been used before?” Finn asked. He knew it was, but the option of using it had never been brought up before now, so he’d always assumed it wasn’t possible.

“Andromeda, I didn’t realize you were home,” Harry said instead of answering Finn’s question.

“I got in a few minutes ago,” Andromeda said. “Came in through the back door. Anyway, Finn, the reason it’s never been used before is because the use of it is strictly regulated by MACUSA. Usually, they only allow its use on No-Maj-born children, so that their absences while attending Ilvermorny don’t need to be explained.”

“What’s the Gemini Charm?” Lily asked, having never even heard of it before. Finn was older and had heard of it, but Lily apparently had not.

“It’s a spell that creates a magical copy of a person, honey,” Harry said. “The copy or double has all of the person’s memories and abilities up until the moment it’s created. It basically allows you to physically be in two places at once, although new memories are shared in real-time between double and original. So, everything you say or do, your double knows about and vice versa.”

“No-Maj-born students use it so that they can be educated in both the non-magical and magical worlds,” Teddy explained. “It also prevents those outside of their household from having to be told about their magic. And helps their parents, as in many cases they don’t much care for the idea of not seeing their children for months at a time, as boarding schools aren’t very common in the non-magical sections of the United States.”

“None of you are No-Maj-born, obviously,” Seamus said. “So we’ve never attempted to get permission to cast it on any of you. Although, thanks to your home-schooling, you shouldn’t have any trouble keeping up in a non-magical school. If we did use it, though, you’d probably have to be enrolled in one, as the neighbors would surely notice if you’re around this year.”

Harry and Seamus told the neighbors on the cul-de-sac they lived on that they were dual citizens and spent a good portion of the year overseas in the United Kingdom, in order to explain why the house was empty for nine months of the year.

“I suppose that might be fun,” Finn said. “Going to school with my non-magic friends. And I wouldn’t have to completely give up video games… even if I’m not playing them personally, I’ll at least have the memories of my double playing them.”

“Well, I’m not sure that’s exactly the same thing,” Teddy said with a grin, “but it will have to do.”

“Assuming, of course, that we can get permission from MACUSA,” Harry said. “I know the spell, as it’s not as strictly regulated in the UK as it is here, but I’m still not going to cast it without permission. So, I’ll have to see about getting it.” With a smirk, he added, “As the Savior of the Wizarding World, it shouldn’t be too hard for me to get an audience with President Grimsditch.”

Addressing the children, Seamus said, “In the meantime, I suggest that you three head up to your rooms and start packing. Until we hear differently, we will assume that we do not have permission to cast the Gemini Charm, so make sure you have everything you want to take with you to Greylock packed and ready to go. If we do get permission, well, we’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it.”

-o-0-o-

The following day, the Potter family’s packing was in full swing. Harry would have tried getting a meeting at MACUSA with President Rafaella Grimsditch, but first he had other things to deal with… such as returning to the United Kingdom for the day to attend a meeting of the Wizengamot.

While it meant next to nothing in the United States, he was Lord Harrison James Potter, Duke of Granston, Marquess of Brynmoor, Earl of Mathry, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter. As Lord Potter, Harry had four votes on the Wizengamot of Albion and Iwernia, one being the Potter family’s vote and one for each of his three titles.

The Kingdom of Albion and Iwernia was far older than the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, having been founded in the seventh century by the legendary King Arthur Pendragon. The Pendragons ruled in an unbroken line until 1698 when the last Pendragon king died without issue, at which point the crown passed to the muggle monarch.

As of 2015, Queen Elizabeth is technically the reigning monarch of Albion and Iwernia, and as such is the head of state and government, but like her ancestors before her, she’s taken a hands-off approach to the governance of the magical world. As such, the Minister for Magic—Hermione Granger-Weasley as of 2014—is the acting head of state and government, carrying out all the duties of the monarch without the title or the crown.

Groaning as he reached over and turned off the alarm clock, Harry sat up in bed and spent a minute or two trying to wake up. It was three o’clock in the morning, but thanks to the five hour time difference, Harry had little choice but to wake up before the sun was even up in order to be able to get ready and be to the Ministry for Magic on time.

“You’d better go, Harry,” Seamus said after another minute. “Before you fall asleep sitting up.”

“You’re right,” Harry said, as he reached over and squeezed Seamus’s hand, before getting up and heading for the bathroom to take a shower.

After a hot shower, Harry dried off and headed back into the bedroom to get dressed. Since he was going overseas, he picked one of his Savile Row suits instead of one of the ones made by his American tailor. Once he was dressed, he grabbed his plum-colored Wizengamot robes and hung them over his arm as he leaned down and kissed Seamus’s forehead.

“See you later, Shay. I love you,” Harry said. Of course, Seamus had fallen back asleep while Harry was showering, so it was debatable whether or not he even heard what Harry said.

Leaving the bedroom, Harry stopped into the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee before heading into his study and grabbing the international portkey seconds before it activated.

“Good morning, Your Grace,” one of the guards outside the Wizengamot Chambers said as Harry appeared in the hallway.

“Morning,” Harry said, opting not to say good simply because in his mind there was absolutely nothing good about being awake at the ass crack of dawn.

Heading into the antechamber of the Wizengamot Chambers, Harry could see that he was one of the first people to arrive. Which suited him fine, because it gave him a few minutes to collect his thoughts and drink his coffee before he had to say much of anything. It also gave him a moment for the necessary concentration to again speak with his British accent, which he rarely used anymore in his daily life in America.

Drinking his coffee, he reached into the pocket of his Wizengamot robes which he’d laid on the empty seat next to him and pulled out the briefing papers that had been delivered to his house late last night. It was typical government bureaucracy in action that the briefing papers detailing what was to be covered weren’t ready to go out until late in the evening two days before the meeting. Of course, Harry knew that if he complained about it, they’d only point out that it wasn’t their fault that he’d moved to the United States and thus it took longer for the owl carrying the papers to reach him.

He’d given up suggesting years ago that they should just send the owl to Seacliff Castle—the Potter family’s ancestral home in Wales—so that his house-elf could then deliver the papers. It would certainly be a lot quicker than having an owl fly across the Atlantic, but the Wizengamot Administration Office continually refused to do so as they believed that the briefing papers had to be delivered directly into the hands of the named members of the Wizengamot and thus could not be sent to Seacliff unless Harry was actually there.

Draining his coffee cup while he was still halfway through reading the papers, Harry couldn’t help the groan that escaped his mouth, because he seriously wanted more coffee. There was a sideboard about twenty feet from where we was sitting where tea, coffee, and a few pastries were set out for the Wizengamot members, but Harry couldn’t be bothered to get up to get any coffee. Besides, he knew from personal experience that the Wizengamot should consider executing whoever it was that made their coffee because it was so bad that capital punishment was the only appropriate punishment in Harry’s mind.

There were unfortunately spells cast on the antechamber and Wizengamot Chambers which prevented even house-elves from Apparating into them, or Harry would have called one of his elves to get him a refill. Setting his empty cup aside, Harry sighed and continued reading the briefing in relative silence for a few minutes, before somebody clearing their throat nearby caught his attention.

Looking up, Harry smiled at Lord Gareth Nicholas Ollivander, Duke of Whitehaven, Marquess of Coulderton, Earl of Eskett, and Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Ollivander. Gareth—or Nick as he preferred to be called—was the grandson of the late Lord Garrick Ollivander who’d passed away two years ago at the age of one-hundred-and-one.

“Can I interest you in a refill?” Nick asked with a grin as he held out a black and silver thermos.

“Is that coffee?”

“Of course, you think I’d drink the swill they have here?” Nick asked with a grin, as he unscrewed the top and poured some of his coffee into Harry’s awaiting cup.

Taking a sip of the hot coffee now in his cup, Harry closed his eyes briefly, because it was some of the best coffee he’d ever tasted in his life… potentially even better then what he drank back home. “This is divine.” After a moment, he grinned and said, “Trying to influence me with a coffee bribe?”

Nick grinned, as he faux-sighed and said, “Oh drat, you’ve discovered my master plan, Granston.”

Harry laughed. “Seriously though thanks for the coffee. I need to remember to start bringing a thermos myself, but I never do. Living in the colonies, I have to get up too bloody early in the morning for my brain to be fully functional without coffee, which I never have time to drink before the portkey is due to go off.”

“Oh I know what that’s like. I spent the year before grandfather died sourcing materials in Brazil, but with grandfather’s health on the decline, I had to attend all these meetings for him. So I know what the time difference is like. Griffin and Galen decided to prank me once by hiding my thermos, but they never tried it again after they got grounded and their allowances cut off for a year.”

“Never mess with a man and his coffee.”

“Damn straight.”

“So how’s Dominick?” Harry asked.

“He’s doing okay,” Nick answered. “Although he’s hoping that his assignment to the Janus Thickey Ward is temporary. Looking after many of the long-term patients is depressing.”

“Yes, I can see how that would be true,” Harry agreed, as he thought back to the time he’d been in the ward when Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny arrived with their grandparents to visit their parents.

Tragically, in 1981, only about a month after Ginny was born, a group of four Death Eaters—Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jr.—attacked and tortured Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley née Prewett under the Cruciatus Curse until their minds broke beyond repair. The Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban for the crime and the couple had been residents of the Janus Thickey Ward ever since, their bodies still functioning—with the aid of magical life support—even though their minds did not.

Arthur’s parents, Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Weasley née Black, moved into The Burrow and assumed primary guardianship of their seven grandchildren, aided by two house-elves, given to them by Cedrella’s sister, Callidora Longbottom née Black. The main reason the Prewetts hadn’t taken the children in was because none of them could afford to take in all seven children full time, but they still provided as much help as they could.

Septimus and Cedrella weren’t really in the best position to do it themselves, but they weren’t going to leave their grandchildren, ranging in age from 1 month old to 10 years old, to fend for themselves. Thankfully, Lord Arcturus Black, agreed to give Cedrella a small stipend from the Black estate which lessened the financial burden enough that she and Septimus managed to keep their grandchildren in clothes, food, and other essentials. There were some members of the Black family who were strongly opposed to the decision as they viewed the Weasleys as blood traitors.

However, Arcturus chose to ignore the protests of Walburga Black—his daughter-in-law and first-cousin-once-removed—because the Weasley children were still of Black blood, and thus family. Walburga may have blasted Cedrella off the Black family tapestry at the Black family’s London townhouse, but Arcturus had never officially disowned her, so when Cedrella came to see him to ask for money to help care for her grandchildren, he gave it to her. Not as much as she’d asked for, but enough that with some careful budgeting she could see to it that most of the children’s needs were met, even if their wants were often a different matter entirely.

“How are Arthur and Molly Weasley?” Harry asked after a moment.

Shaking his head, a sad look on his face, Nick said, “No change, I’m afraid, but then it’s been thirty-four years, so everyone at the hospital has pretty much given up hope that there ever will be. Sometimes I’ve wondered if it might not be better to just discontinue life support and let them go, but Charlie, Fred, George, and Ginny refuse to allow it and thus the law won’t allow it without a majority agreement by the next of kin.”

Nothing else was said between the two men, as Harry got back to reading over the agenda for the meeting and drinking a second and third cup of coffee. He was initially worried about drinking all of Nick’s coffee, but the graying-blond-haired wandmaker waved off those concerns, explaining that thanks to some very nice charms, while his thermos only weighed about the same as a one liter bottle of soda, it actually held over two gallons of coffee. Nick never found it necessary to drink that much, but he knew how horrid the coffee that the Wizengamot Administration Office provided was so he made sure to have plenty to share. Needless to say, Nick Ollivander was one of the most popular members of the Wizengamot.

Between them, the Lords of the Thirteen Noble Houses of Albion and Iwernia held fifty-two of the one-hundred seats on the Wizengamot, the others belonging to a small handful of Ministry officials and elected MWs (Members of the Wizengamot). Thus, there was a time when a lot of the bodies’ business was conducted without a single one of the elected members present, as the Lords by banding together could overrule any decision that the non-noble members made.

While it was unlikely to get all thirteen of the Lords to agree on anything, it had happened on a few rare occasions. Enough so that one of the first reforms that sitting Minister for Magic Hermione Granger-Weasley and Chief Witch of the Wizengamot Minerva McGonagall—who was also the Headmistress of Hogwarts—made together was a requirement that at least a third of the non-noble members of the Wizengamot had to vote in favor of any measure for it to pass. There would also be spells cast on the Wizengamot Chambers that ensured everybody was voting without duress, magical or otherwise.

Of course, the measure failed the first time that Hermione and Minerva tried to get it passed, as a majority of the Lords weren’t keen on doing anything that would limit their power. There were also several among the MWs who sided with the Lords, either because they were traditionalists or because they didn’t like having a Muggleborn Minister. So they weren’t going to help her pass anything she proposed.

In the end, Hermione decided to pull out the big guns, so to speak, and during a meeting with the Queen, she laid out just how corrupt the Wizengamot was and how oftentimes the Lords got the MWs to vote their way either through fear and intimidation, or in some instances even resorting to magic. Queen Elizabeth agreed that something had to be done and she gave Hermione her full support, which was considerable since unlike in the muggle world, she wasn’t constitutionally limited in the magical world. She actually held absolute authority, although she and her ancestors before her rarely chose to use it. Instead they concentrated on the muggle world and left the magical world up to those who could better understand its inner workings, like the Minister for Magic.

Roughly half an hour passed, during which more of the members filtered into the room. Many of them gravitated to Nick who smiled as he filled more than a couple coffee cups. There were some, of course, who preferred tea, but thankfully the Wizengamot Administration Office did provide good tea. Why they couldn’t manage to get the coffee right was anyone’s guess.

Finally, as the last of the lords arrived, the doors into the main chamber opened and Minerva’s Sonorused voice said, “Would everybody please enter the Chambers and take their seats? We’ll be starting the meeting momentarily.”

Standing up, Harry made his way into the Wizengamot Chambers with his fellow lords, as the Ministry officials and other MWs had a different entrance on the opposite side of the large meeting room. Moving up into the box that held the four seats that he owned, he took his seat and waited for the morning session to begin.

 _‘Hopefully, this will be over on time, unlike last time,’_ Harry thought, as he remembered the last meeting of the Wizengamot he’d attended, which had the normal morning session from ten in the morning until one in the afternoon. There had then been an hour for lunch before the afternoon session that lasted from two in the afternoon until six in the evening. The problem, of course, was that by the end of the afternoon session, the business before the body wasn’t finished, so after a three hour break, the Wizengamot reconvened for an evening session beginning at nine at night and that ended up running until two in the morning.

Giving all the members about five minutes to get to their seats and sit down, Minerva picked up the gavel on the desk in front of her and rapped it twice. “I now call this meeting of the Wizengamot of Albion and Iwernia, on this the Twenty-Second day of June, Two-Thousand and Fifteen, to order.”

Once everyone had quieted down, Minerva savored a moment of relative silence, knowing that with the items on the agenda—many of them quite contentious and controversial—silence wasn’t going to be an abundant commodity over the course of the day. “Our first order of business is debate on W126, the bill put forth by Minister Granger-Weasley and co-sponsored by Lords Potter and Black, to repeal the Anti-Werewolf laws.”

Unsurprisingly, several people all began talking at once, prompting Minerva to rap the gavel vigorously and shout “Order! I understand this is a controversial topic, but I will not allow this body to descend into anarchy.” After the room was mostly quiet again, Minerva said, “Now, Minister, the floor is yours for your opening statements.”

Hermione stood and said, “Thank you, Chief McGonagall,” before launching into her statements outlining why she’d introduced the bill. After she finished, Harry and his godson, Lord Caelum Black—the son of the late Sirius Black and his wife, the late Emmeline Black née Vance—both added their own two cents, before the floor was opened to allow other members to ask questions and debate the merits of the bill.

The debate was still going as the clock neared one o’clock. Rapping her gavel, Minerva said, “Debate on this issue will continue for one hour after the break, before we vote. For now, however, this body stands in recess for lunch. We will reconvene in one hour from now.”

-o-0-o-

Leaving the Wizengamot Chambers and heading into the private Lord’s Dining Hall, Harry placed his lunch order with one of the house-elves before moving over to his usual table and sitting down. He was soon joined by Nick, Caelum, and Lord Amos Diggory.

“Well, the morning session was certainly… loud,” Nick said, as he shook his head slightly, his ears still ringing a bit.

“Yes, I’m so looking forward to the afternoon session,” Caelum said, his tone sarcastic. “Not.”

Amos grinned. “Well, you had to know that the debate on such an issue was bound to be spirited. Still, I do agree with the Minister, the current laws have outlived their usefulness.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, werewolves are not inherently evil, but when the government passes laws that make it next to impossible for them to find or keep gainful employment and then treats them like third-class citizens, it’s really no wonder that many of them feel they have no choice but to turn to crime. Few, if any, asked for their condition and many of them do still have families to provide for.”

“You’ll have my votes,” Nick said. “I think the Minister’s plans for an educational campaign to re-educate the populace and hopefully reduce fear of the bitten are sound.”

“And adding Wolfsbane Potion to the list of potions that are fully covered under the healthcare system is also a good thing,” Caelum said. As their food arrived, he shook his head and said, “Anyway, enough business talk for now.”

“Indeed,” Harry said with a sigh, as he took a sip of the butterbeer he’d ordered to accompany his soup and sandwich. “So, Caelum, how are you? It’s been awhile since we’ve seen each other in person.”

“I’m fine,” Caelum said. “I’ve just been settling in at Arlington.” Shivering slightly, he added, “Which includes doing some redecorating because I’ve gotta say, whoever was in charge of the décor was clearly insane.”

“I’ll definitely agree with you on that,” Amos said as he too shivered. “I don’t think I’ve been in Arlington since Arcturus Black died, but from what I remember, the décor was interesting to say the least.”

“If by interesting you mean gory and macabre, then yes, it was,” Nick said. “I was only there once as a child with my grandparents. I had nightmares for a week. Thank Merlin I finally figured out a way to permanently block memories that actually works for me.”

An old Ollivander family spell created centuries ago had led to improved memory in every member of the Ollivander family, but Nick had a photographic memory and could remember everything he’d ever seen, heard, smelled, touched, or read with perfect clarity. He’d spent a fortune over the years, paying a small army of spell crafters to research and create a spell that would allow him to truly forget things, without the possibility of the memories resurfacing without much success, but thankfully they’d finally done it about two years ago.

“I wouldn’t want your memory,” Harry said with a shake of his head. Before he grinned and said, “Is that why you’re going gray? Years of stress from memories you wish you could forget?”

“Don’t talk to me about going gray, Harry Potter,” Nick chastised. “Not when you’ve got gray hair too and you’re eleven years younger than me.”

“True, I suppose I can’t really talk. Of course, you’ve got more gray hair than I do, Nick. I only have a few traces of it, whereas you’ve got quite a bit more than that.”

“So, I’ve noticed,” Nick said. “Unfortunately, along with good memories, a tendency to go gray young seems to run in my family. Grandfather went completely gray by his mid-twenties and my father was starting to before he died at twenty-nine. I got lucky in that I didn’t start until I was forty. I dyed my hair for two years, but eventually I just accepted the inevitable. Plus, Dom thinks it’s sexy, so, I figure I’ll just let it run its course from now on.”

“What about Grayson?” Caelum asked, referring to Nick’s younger brother. “He seems to be lucky too.”

Nick laughed. “That’s what he wants everybody to think. He’d probably kill me for saying this, but Gray is aptly named, before he started going gray in his late teens and was completely gray by the time he was twenty-one. You wouldn’t know it though because he dyes it, but a quick Hair Dye Removal Charm and you’ll see that he’s completely gray. I cast one on him every now and then, when he gets too cocky.”

“So I suppose Noah’s children might go gray early then,” Amos commented, since his son and heir, Noah Diggory, had married Aurora Ollivander, the sister of Nick and Grayson. “Not sure how I feel about my grandchildren having the same hair color as me.”

“Well, at least the Ollivander memory will serve them well in school,” Caelum said.

Nodding, Amos said, “True, it has served them well. Noah Jr. and Cedric are already out of school, but they both got high marks. And Kathy is doing well. Out of all of them though, I think Drew will have the best memory.” Looking at Nick, he said, “It looks like he got the same photographic memory that you did, Nick, because he’s recounted entire conversations word for word that were had around him while he was still a baby.”

“Yes, Aurora told me,” Nick said. “She’s already asked me to teach Drew the spell that lets me permanently forget things once he’s far enough along in his education to learn it.”

“So, Amos, how is my son settling in?” Harry said. “He sends letters home, but I figure you’ve probably seen him more recently than I have.”

Harry’s eldest biological son and heir was James Potter-Diggory, who was Harry’s son with his first boyfriend, Cedric Diggory—that is Noah’s late younger brother Cedric, not the son he’d named after him. James was a shock to Harry as he was still mourning Cedric when he found out towards the beginning of his fifth year at Hogwarts that he was pregnant. Madam Pomfrey pinpointed the date of conception as being two days prior to the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament and thus Cedric’s untimely death.

“It’s been a few days since I’ve been to Seacliff to see him,” Amos said, as James had chosen to live in the Potter’s ancestral home on the western coast of Wales. “But he came over to Willowglen for dinner last night. He dropped a few hints about having important news at some point soon, but he refused to give Amelia and me any details.”

“I know what he was hinting at,” a familiar drawl said, before Harry could comment, as everyone at the table looked up to see Harry’s old school rival, Draco Malfoy, who was still the Malfoy heir as Lucius was still alive.

“How could you possibly know?” Harry asked. Before Draco could say anything, he added, “I never thought I’d see a Malfoy with gray hair… your father is still as blond as he’s always been, although I suspect he dyes it.”

“He does, Potter,” Draco said. “As for me, I spent over a decade watching my wife waste away, getting weaker and weaker following my son’s birth. That would turn anyone gray. And before you ask, I don’t dye it because Astoria liked it, so even though she’s been gone for nearly five years now, I opted to keep it.”

Harry sighed. “I’d heard about Astoria’s death. For what it’s worth, you have my condolences.”

“Thank you,” Draco said. “Anyway, I know because your son paid me a visit at Malfoy Manor yesterday, presumably before going over to Willowglen for dinner with his grandparents.”

“And what was the purpose of the visit?” Amos asked.

“To formally ask me for permission to marry my son, Scorpius.”

“Marry? My son asked you if he could marry your son.”

“Yes, Potter, that is what I said. Do try to pay attention so I don’t need to repeat myself.”

Ignoring Draco’s last comment, Harry said, “Shay and I suspected that JC was dating someone,” referring to James by his nickname, as his full name was James Cedric Potter-Diggory. “And that he had more reasons for moving back here then he was telling us. But I’d never guessed that it was Scorpius.”  


“It took me by surprise, too, Potter,” Draco said. Normally, since he was the son and heir of an Earl and Harry was a Duke, he wouldn’t be allowed to call him by his surname, but Harry had given Draco permission to call him whatever he wanted, after Draco had refrained from telling anyone who he was when he’d been captured by Snatchers during seventh year.

Thanks to some quick thinking by Hermione who’d hit Harry with a Stinging Hex, his face had been swollen and mostly unrecognizable at the time, although Harry could tell that Draco had still been able to recognize him. Since he’d most likely be dead if Draco had identified him, Harry figured that letting his old rival call him whatever he wanted—outside of formal settings which despite being at the Ministry, lunch in the private Lord’s Dining Hall was not considered to be—was the least he could do under the circumstances.

“Forgive me, but isn’t Scorpius only like fifteen?” Caelum asked.

“Until September, yes,” Draco said. “From what James told me and what I was able to get out of Scorpius after he left, they’ve been dating for two years now. Long-distance, of course, but apparently they met in 2011 and became pen friends, falling for each other over the course of the next two years.”

“And you didn’t put a stop to it?”

“No, Potter, like you it seems, I didn’t know about it until yesterday,” Draco said. “And the fact that James told his grandparents that he may have important news soon should tell you that I didn’t give him an answer. I told him I needed time to consider my answer. I do want Scorpius to be happy, but I’m not sure that getting married so young is what’s best for him. I was only eighteen when I married Astoria and despite the fact that we were in love, we both wondered if perhaps we’d gotten married too soon.”

“So you don’t have an issue with it being my son?”

“I’ve let go of my animosity towards you, Potter,” Draco said. “And I never felt any for James. The only issue I have with Scorpius marrying your son is that in doing so he’ll invalidate his future claim on the Malfoy lordship, so I’ll have to provide another heir.”

The laws of Albion and Iwernia specifically forbade any member of the Thirteen Houses to inherit their family’s lordship if they married into one of the other Thirteen Houses. It was intended to prevent the consolidation of too much power with any one individual, as would happen if say two lords married and had children, thus granting the child a claim on both of their families’ titles… and potentially eight votes on the Wizengamot.

“Well, I don’t have any issues with JC marrying Scorpius,” Harry said. “If it makes them happy, then I’m happy for them. As for animosity between us, I have far more important things to be worrying about than a childhood rivalry. So, I’m more than willing to put that chapter of our lives behind us, Draco.”

“Indeed,” Draco said, as he stood still for a moment, before making up his mind and offering his hand to Harry.

Harry looked at it for a moment, before taking it and giving Draco a firm handshake. “Well, I guess we’re going to be in-laws.”

“I haven’t actually said yes, yet, Harry,” Draco said as the handshake ended. “James and Scorpius want me to give them permission to marry immediately… as in before Scorpius turns seventeen next year.”

“What’s the rush?” Amos asked.

Draco sighed. “They want to be married before the autumn term at Hogwarts starts. Since Scorpius is still a student and James is Flitwick’s apprentice, they wouldn’t be allowed to date each other. They figure that being in the same castle and not being able to act on their feelings would be too difficult, so they want to get married as the Hogwarts rules do allow student/professor relationships in the case of married couples.”

Harry was silent for a time, as he contemplated that. Finally, he said, “I’m not sure what to say on that. I’d suggest convening the Board of Governors and voting to change the rule, but that would reek of using the Board’s authority for special favors. Which would fly in the face of many of the Minister’s anti-corruption reforms. The Ministry has no say at Hogwarts, of course, but it still wouldn’t look good.”

“Well, I think we might be able to get around that,” Nick said. “We could convene the Board and vote not necessarily to change the rule, but to clarify it. As Flitwick’s apprentice, it’s true that James is considered to be a staff member because apprentices do teach classes… but they never teach the advanced classes. The whole reason behind the rule barring student/professor relationships is to make sure that no student can date their professor in order to gain an advantage in class… and Scorpius is too old to ever be in James’s class.”

“True,” Amos said. “If we clarify the rule in regards to apprentice/student relationships, I’d say it’s a workable loophole. I’d suggest perhaps adding in language that forbids James from giving or taking points from Scorpius, assigning him detention, or overseeing his detentions should he receive any. Perhaps, also strongly discourage public displays of affection… but what they do in the privacy of their quarters is their business.”

“That’s a number of concessions, but I can’t say I see anything wrong with it,” Caelum said. “Provided the student is never in the apprentice’s class, and the apprentice can’t participate in any form of disciplinary action or reward involving the student… maybe add the requirement that the apprentice’s Master, the student’s head of house, and the school’s head have to sign off on the relationship?”

“That works for me,” Harry said, as he pulled the gold pocket watch from his waistcoat pocket and said, “However, further discussion of this issue will have to wait until later, as we’ll be reconvening in five minutes.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there you have Chapter Four of ‘The Battle of the Billionaires.’ Some of you who’ve read my Harry Potter story ‘The Journey Begins’ may recognized the concept of the Thirteen Houses, as I used it in that story as well. I used it here because I figured it would give Harry a good reason to return to Britain from time to time and interact with all the HP characters, canon or OC, who still live there, rather than in the US.
> 
> Also, in case anyone is wondering, the reason that this Harry Potter—a clone of Kal-El/Clark Kent—was able to inherit the Potter lordships, it’s because he was blood-adopted by the late James and Lily Potter. Which means that the blood of James and Lily was magically injected into his veins, making him their son by blood. Blood-adoptions are rather rare, however, and most adoptions are not blood-adoptions. Harry’s son Kieran isn’t blood adopted, for example, which is why James Potter-Diggory, who’s 19, is the Potter heir, instead of Kieran, who’s 21.
> 
> Now, to be clear, Frank and Alice Longbottom moved to Australia in both the original and the changed timeline, so they weren’t around to be tortured by the Death Eaters. The family later returned to Britain after Voldemort's defeat. So Barty Jr. and the Lestranges still went to Azkaban, but it was for torturing Arthur and Molly instead of Frank and Alice, since they had access to one couple and not the other.
> 
> Anyway, if there’s any subjects you’d like the Wizengamot to debate, let me know and I’ll consider them. Next chapter, Oliver will publicly announce his candidacy and there’ll be a few more surprises in the Wizengamot meeting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to Harry Potter or Smallville are the property of their respective creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured in the officially licensed material, whether it be television, films, books, etc.
> 
> Main Pairings: Clark Kent/Oliver Queen, Harry Potter/Seamus Finnigan
> 
> Other Pairings: Landon Lang/Whitney Fordman/Jason Teague, Lorcan Scamander/OMC: Eric Fordman-Lang, Lysander Scamander/OMC: Kaidan Fordman-Lang, Scorpius Malfoy/OMC: James Potter-Diggory, Chloe Sullivan/Bruce Wayne, Lois Lane/OMC: Andrew Sterling
> 
> Warnings: Alternate Universe, Slash, Violence, Language, Politics, Religion, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Character Death, Mpreg, Male Lana Lang, Past Rape/Non-Con, Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Background Het

The Battle of the Billionaires  
Written by J.C. Vascardi

-o-0-o-

_Previously in ‘The Battle of the Billionaires’…_

-o-0-o-

Oliver tells his friends and family about his decision to run for President of the United States against Lex. Later, the Cardinal Archbishop of Star City—an old schoolmate and former lover of Oliver’s at Excelsior—drops in and offers to secretly bless Oliver’s and Clark’s marriage.

Harry tells Seamus about Landon’s visit and together they tell Teddy, Finn, and Lily about the necessity of moving to the wizarding village of Greylock. The next day, Harry gets up before dawn in order to head back to Britain to attend a meeting of the Wizengamot. During the lunch break, he finds out from Draco Malfoy that his son with Cedric—James Potter-Diggory—asked the Malfoy heir for permission to marry his son, Scorpius.

-o-0-o-

Chapter Five

-o-0-o-

“That closes our debate on W126,” Minerva said after rapping the gavel once, an hour after the Wizengamot reconvened. “We will now vote on the measure. When your name is called cast your vote.”

“Lord Gareth Ollivander, Duke of Whitehaven,” called Percy Weasley, who served as the Wizengamot’s secretary and was responsible for tallying and recording all the votes.

Pulling out his wand, Nick tapped it four times on the pedestal in front of his seat, muttering a spell as he did so, which caused the four candles atop it to light. All four were soon burning with green flames, which signaled that Nick opted to vote Aye on all four of his seats. None of the Lords of the Thirteen were required to cast all four of their votes the same way, although generally speaking, they did.

Percy next called “Lord Franklin Longbottom, Duke of Aldersey,” followed by “Lord Harrison Potter, Duke of Granston,” which added six votes to the Aye column, bringing it up to ten, but also adding the first two votes to the Nay column as Frank Longbottom exercised his prerogative to split his votes and thus cast two Aye votes and two Nay, as he’d agreed with arguments made by both sides of the debate and thus didn’t feel that he could place his full support with one side over the other.

“Lord Caelum Black, Marquess of Charlton,” Percy called out next. Unsurprisingly, since he was one of the bill’s co-sponsors, Caelum added all four of his votes to the Aye column.

Percy continued calling out the names of the Lords who cast their votes either in favor or against before he moved on to the non-noble members of the Wizengamot. After calling out the last name, Percy made a few notations on the parchment in front of him, as he tallied up the votes.

“The results, Mr. Weasley?” McGonagall asked after a moment. She’d tried to keep track of them in her head as they were cast, but it was difficult. She was only a few months away from being ninety years old, after all.

“Fifty votes in favor,” Percy answered. “And fifty votes against.”

“Very well,” McGonagall said. “In accordance with the Wizengamot protocols, I will cast the tie-breaking vote.” Pulling out her wand, she tapped the pedestal in front of her seat and the wick of the single candle lit green.

Almost immediately there were some boos from those who’d voted Nay, but McGonagall silenced them with a rap of her gavel, as she announced, “Let the record show that the vote on W126 is 51 to 50 in favor… the motion passes.”

Harry smiled sadly, as he wished that Remus was alive to see this. Harry knew that this was only the first step. Repealing a law that had been in place for decades was never easy and there would surely be issues moving forward as the new legislation would take a few months to actually go into effect since almost no new law ever goes into effect immediately after passage.

Especially since even passed by the Wizengamot, the bill still needed the Royal Assent to become legally binding. Usually, the Minister of Magic is empowered by the reigning monarch to grant the Royal Assent on bills, but in this case, the bill would have to be forwarded to Elizabeth for her approval, since one of the anti-corruption standards that Hermione had put into place was that the Minister can’t grant the Royal Assent on any legislation that they introduced.

Harry also knew that law or no law, attitudes would take longer to change. He knew that there was still a lot of fear in the wizarding world in regards to werewolves. So he knew that it was entirely possible that some of the non-noble elected members of the Wizengamot who voted in favor of this bill, could be facing the possibility of losing their seats in the next election if a majority of their constituents didn’t agree with the decision.

“Our next order of business is W217,” McGonagall said. “The International Potions Ingredients Standardization and Arbitration Treaty, brought by the International Confederation of Wizards. I will now open the floor for two and a half hours of debate, to be followed by the vote, before we break for dinner.” After a moment, she said, “We will have an evening session starting at nine this evening, but it will run no later than midnight. After which you’re all free to return home… until tomorrow morning when we reconvene.”

Having seen all the items on the agenda, Harry couldn’t say that he was surprised that all of them wouldn’t be covered in only a single day’s sessions. Thankfully, he’d already ordered the house-elves to open the Potter family’s London townhouse and prepare it for his arrival, as he’d expected that he’d end up staying on in London for a few days. He also made arrangements for James to come over from Seacliff and stay at the townhouse with him while he was in town.

 _‘Considering what Draco told me earlier,’_ Harry thought, _‘I have even more reason now to want to see James… we’re going to have a lot to discuss.’_

-o-0-o-

After the Wizengamot went into recess for dinner, Harry said goodbye to Nick and a few other people before leaving the Ministry and heading for his family’s townhouse. With a three-hour break, many of the members chose to eat dinner elsewhere rather than remaining at the Ministry. For the Lords of the Thirteen Houses, this was usually their respective London townhouses, which all of them had, even though with magic it would be quite easy to go back and forth between London and their actual ancestral estates.

Stepping out of the drawing room fireplace of Number 13 Heathwell Court, Harry cast a quick cleaning charm on his clothes to get rid of the soot. As he was putting his wand away, a pair of arms snaked around his waist and Harry soon felt a hand on his crotch.

“Um, James?” Harry asked because as far as he knew, his son was the only one—other than the house-elves—who were going to be at the townhouse with him.

“That’s not me, Dad,” James said with a grin, as he leaned against the frame of the archway leading into the entry hall. “I’ve missed you and all, but not enough that I’d ever get that touchy-feely.”

“Honestly, Harry?” a voice whispered in his ear. “You think James would grab your crotch?”

“Shay?” Harry asked, as he turned around and came face to face with his husband.

“Surprise,” Seamus said with a grin.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked.

“I figured I’d surprise you,” Seamus said. “School isn’t in session, after all, so it’s not like I have to work. And obviously the kids don’t have school, so I figured we'd all come over for a few days to stay here while you attend the Wizengamot sessions.”

“The kids are here too?” Harry asked.

James nodded, as he pushed away from the archway and came over to give his father a hug. “Yeah, they’re all upstairs getting cleaned up for dinner. Tilly said it should be done in about ten minutes.”

After the hug ended, Harry placed his hands on James’s shoulders and asked, “So, what’s this I hear about you and Scorpius Malfoy?”

“Scorpius Malfoy?” Seamus asked, confused.

With a nod, Harry said, “Yes, apparently James asked Draco Malfoy for permission to propose to Scorpius.”

“You talked to Draco?” Seamus asked as he began scanning his husband with a critical eye, looking for injuries or anything else that might suggest a fight.

Rolling his eyes, Harry said, “Yes, Shay, I talked with Draco and no we didn’t get into a fight. In fact, we decided to bury the hatchet and put our rivalry in the past.” Looking at James, he said, “Since it seems that we might be in-laws.”

“I take it that Bratton hasn’t made up his mind yet?” James asked, referring to Draco by his courtesy title, as the Malfoy heir which was Viscount Bratton. Of course, as the Potter heir, James was the courtesy Marquess of Brynmoor, meaning he technically outranked Draco and could pretty much call him whatever he wanted.

James had been as respectful as possible, however, when he approached Draco, even making sure to brush up on all the necessary old forms to make sure he framed his request the correct way according to pureblood wizarding culture. He had wanted to make a good impression, after all, so that the Malfoy heir would hopefully be more amenable to his request.

“No, he hasn’t,” Harry said. “Not that I can blame him, since not only are you asking for the hand of his only child—which means he’s going to have to produce another heir since his mother is past her childbearing years—but you also asked to marry him within the next month, before Scorpius is even seventeen.”

Before James or Seamus could comment, Harry asked, “Why didn’t you come to me before going to see Draco? I have to admit that I’m kind of hurt that I had to find out you wanted to get married from Draco, JC. You should have told me that yourself.”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” James said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I didn’t want to say anything about the potential engagement until I got permission from Scorpius’s dad. Because it would have sucked if I told everybody and then Draco said no.”

Shaking his head, Seamus said, “You know we would have supported you no matter what, JC.” James wasn’t Seamus’s son, but he’d helped raise him since he married Harry when James was seven. Of course, even before Harry and Seamus were married, Seamus had helped with James since he was three. “But why are you in such a rush? You haven’t gotten him pregnant have you?”

“No!” James exclaimed. “Cor isn’t pregnant and neither am I,” he then looked slightly apprehensive, as he said, “at least as far as I know. We have done it, so I suppose there’s a chance, but we’ve been careful and used protection every time.”

Harry sighed in relief because while Draco had relayed to him the reasoning that James had given him for wanting to get married so quickly, in the back of his mind, Harry couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to it than what James or Scorpius were telling Draco.

“That’s good,” Harry said. “Keep it that way, JC, because I swear if you make me a grandfather when I’m still in my 30’s, I won’t be a happy camper.”

Seamus grinned. “I’d prefer you didn’t have children for another twenty or thirty years so that I’d be in my fifties or sixties, but I understand that’s probably asking too much. So just try to hold off until Harry and I are in our forties at least.”

“Late forties if possible,” Harry added. “And preferably not until you’re married, settled into your home together, and well established in your respective careers.”

“I’ll try, but no promises,” James said. “I’m living proof that unexpected pregnancies do occur. But, Cor and I are not going to be actively trying to get pregnant.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Harry said. “I can’t imagine that Draco would thank you for getting his son pregnant before he’s even out of Hogwarts. Honestly, I’ve always figured that Amos and Amelia would probably have been a lot more upset about my pregnancy if Cedric had lived.”

Seamus nodded. “That’s probably true. I can’t imagine that your parents would have been all that thrilled about you being pregnant at fifteen. Being who you are, it obviously made the papers, and I remember my Mum commenting that it was disgraceful that a person so young was having a baby.” Shaking his head, as he remembered something, he then added, “She later refused to admit ever saying any such thing after we started dating and I told her we were getting married.”

“Yeah that was rather hypocritical of her,” James said, as Finn and Lily walked into the room, with Teddy and Andromeda walking in a moment later.

“Hypocritical of who?” Finn asked.

“Your grandmother,” Harry answered, as he pulled his three children, plus Teddy, into a group hug.

When it was over, Finn said, “Oh. I barely remember her.”

“Well, you were only three when she died,” Seamus said, an obvious hint of sadness in his voice, prompting Harry to wrap an arm around his husband’s waist and give him a comforting squeeze.

“So did Viscount Bratton give you any indication of what his answer would be?” James asked, trying to turn the conversation back to the topic that interested him the most.

“What are we trying to get Draco Malfoy’s answer to?” Teddy asked, as Finn and Lily also perked up a bit, obviously curious about the answer themselves.

“Your brother asked Draco for permission to marry his son Scorpius,” Seamus answered. Technically, Teddy wasn’t James’ brother, as they weren’t related by blood. James was Harry’s son and Teddy his godson, however, and Teddy pretty much thought of all of Harry’s kids as his siblings, because they’d grown up together.

“I’m afraid not, JC,” Harry said. “Although I can safely say that even if he does give you permission to propose, there’s no way he’s going to give you permission to marry Scorpius before the autumn term of Hogwarts starts.”

James groaned. “Well, then I guess I’m going to have to give up my apprenticeship with Flitwick because there’s no way that I’m going to be able to spend an entire year in the school with Scorpius and not act on my feelings for him.”

Sensing that a conversation which might be inappropriate for younger ears was taking place, Andromeda said, “Finn, Lily, why don’t you go to the kitchen and visit with Tilly?”

Finn and Lily looked ready to complain, but one look from Andromeda silenced them before they could say anything. “Yes, Grandma,” they said in unison before leaving the room. Both sets of their grandparents on the Potter and Finnigan sides of the family were dead, but Andromeda had pretty much become their surrogate grandmother.

“You will do no such thing,” Harry said. “However, I’m going to call a special meeting of the Board of Governors about the rule barring teacher/student relationships.”

“You’re going to change the rule?” James asked in a hopeful tone.

“Not change it, so much as clarify it,” Harry said. “Where it pertains to student/apprentice relationships. As it stands now, you’re seen as a teacher and you’re barred from dating any student since you do teach classes for Flitwick. But, since Scorpius is too old to ever be one of your students, I see nothing wrong with clarifying the rule to potentially allow the relationship.”

Harry then went ahead and relayed the conversation that he’d had with Nick, Caelum, Amos, and Draco. By the end of it, James nodded and said, “Well, I guess that will work. I just hope that Headmistress McGonagall, and Professors Flitwick and Zabini will agree to it.”

“I don’t think that’ll be an issue,” Andromeda said. “I doubt Minerva or Filius will have a problem with it.”

“And Blaise will probably do whatever Draco tells him to do,” Seamus added, in reference to Professor Blaise Zabini, who was now the fifth through seventh year Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts and the Head of Slytherin House. “They are best friends, after all.”

“True,” Harry said, a moment before Tilly popped in briefly to say that dinner was ready, before popping back out. “Anyway, I have something else to share with you while we eat, JC.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, back in the States, Oliver and Clark were at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, California, sitting in the green room backstage at _The Talk_. They’d been scheduled to appear on the show for well over a month now, ostensibly to talk about their wedding and share some pictures from their honeymoon. Given recent events, however, Oliver was thinking he may as well use this opportunity to make his announcement.

Neither man was really paying much attention to the live broadcast of the show that was playing on a nearby monitor, so they couldn’t really say exactly what was being discussed, except that it had something to do with the Kardashians. Oliver and Clark weren’t big fans of reality TV, however, so it didn’t really interest them.

“You’re sure you want to do this?” Clark asked.

Nodding, Oliver said, “Yes, I do.” Looking over at Clark, he asked, “You’re not having second thoughts are you?”

Shaking his head, Clark said, “No, I’m not. Just making sure that this is how you want to do this. You are the former Governor, after all, Ollie and you left office with a record high approval rating, so you could probably get an interview with one of the major news shows quite easily.”

“True,” Oliver conceded. “But I think I prefer doing it this way. The appearance is already booked, so why not use it? Besides, if I contact one of the major networks asking for an interview, popular former Governor of California or not, they’re going to want to know why. And if I tell them my intentions, sure they’ll undoubtedly grant the interview, but they’ll have their own agenda. Plus, it opens up the chance of the news leaking before I make the announcement.”

“And then you lose control of how this is covered. Or at least the initial announcement. Obviously, once the announcement is made, you’ll have very little control over how the various networks cover it.”

“Indeed. Here, they don’t know that I want to make an announcement, so they won’t be prepared for it. They just think we’re going to talk about our wedding and show some honeymoon pictures.” Grinning at Clark, he added, “Which we will do because I want to show you off.”

“Ollie, I hope you didn’t include any embarrassing photos in the batch you sent to the show.”

“Relax, Clark, this is Daytime TV. Standards and Practices wouldn’t allow anything too racy.”

“I know that, Ollie!” Clark exclaimed as he lightly hit his husband’s forearm. “I know they can’t show nudity or anything, but is there anything that’s going to embarrass me?”

“Well,” Oliver hedged. “I may have included a shot of us at the pool in our speedos.”

“Oh God, Ollie!”

“Just because I included it doesn’t mean they’re actually going to show it. We only have about ten minutes of airtime, so they’re probably only going to have time for a few shots. And I’m not sure which ones of the ones I sent they actually picked. I just gave them options.”

Clark was just about to threaten Oliver with spending the night on the couch when there was a knock on the door before it opened and an assistant stuck their head in to say, “We need you in the wings, you’re up right after the commercial break.”

Nodding, Clark and Oliver stood and followed the assistant to the wings just off set, as they waited to be announced. One of the makeup artists came over and quickly touched up their makeup. Once they were relatively alone, minus the numerous backstage people going about their business, Oliver leaned close to Clark and whispered, “Relax, Clark. You look like you’re going off to the guillotine.”

A small grin broke onto Clark’s face, as he said, “Good thing I’m not since the pendant would mean that it’d actually work on me.”

“True,” Oliver said as he took Clark’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, moments before the theme music began playing to signal that the commercial break was over.

“Our first guest today is well known to all of us here in California as the most popular Governor our state has had in years, having left office with an approval rating of over 90%,” came the voice of Julie Chen. “Please join me in welcoming Governor Oliver Queen and his husband Clark Kent-Queen.”

At this, the doors opened and Clark and Oliver walked out hand in hand, smiling as they passed the studio audience of mostly women who were all on their feet and cheering. After going around and giving quick hugs to all of the hosts, with the hugs from Sheryl Underwood being a bit longer than the hugs with other four hosts, they took their seats at the table. Clark next to Sara Gilbert, with Oliver between him and Sharon Osbourne.

Once the cheering of the audience died down, Julie said, “Welcome Oliver, Clark.”

“Thank you, Julie,” both men said in unison.

“I’m liking the matching outfits,” Aisha commented, as Clark and Oliver were both wearing black pants and green button-down shirts, with an unbuttoned black leather vest over them. “You must be very much in love.

“We are,” Clark confirmed. “Although the matching clothes are more because Oliver took over my wardrobe when we got together.”

“Why did he take over your wardrobe?” Julie asked.

Clark grinned. “I’m a Kansas farm boy who used to wear a lot of plaids, mostly in red and blue. Looking back on it, I can admit that I wore those two colors almost exclusively, so Oliver wasn’t wrong when he decided I needed to expand my horizons a bit.”

“And was that only in your wardrobe?” Sheryl asked.

“Oh it definitely involved other areas too,” Clark answered. “Oliver wasn’t my first boyfriend, but in many ways, I was still rather innocent and naïve when we started dating. He changed that.”

“I just introduced him to a more worldly view,” Oliver said. “Before I came along, Clark’s life was pretty much limited to Smallville and Metropolis. The times he’d actually left Kansas could be counted on a single hand.” Realizing that what he just said might be seen as knocking Kansas, he added, “Not that there’s anything wrong with staying in Kansas. I have a home in Metropolis and some of my happiest memories were spent with Clark and his mother at their family farm in Smallville.”

“Clark’s mother is Senator Martha Kent of Kansas, right?” Sara asked.

Clark and Oliver both nodded, but Oliver spoke first. “Yes, she is. That’s actually how Clark and I first met. I was making a donation to his mother’s campaign and I swung by the farm to drop it off in person.”

From Oliver’s grin, Clark knew what was coming next and decided to beat his husband to the punch. “Yes, and I made a mistake that Oliver has never let me forget. I mistook him for a courier, so I took the envelope with his donation and then basically shut the door in his face, not realizing that he was actually Oliver Queen. Mom came downstairs not long after and I gave her the envelope. It was when she asked where the man that came with it was that I realized my mistake, but Oliver was already gone.”

“Well, in Clark’s defense,” Oliver spoke up, “I suppose he figured that a billionaire CEO, as this was years before my term as Governor so I was at the helm of my family company, wouldn’t do that kind of thing in person. Especially since it’s a three-hour drive between Metropolis and Smallville.”

“Yes, I went to Oliver’s apartment in Metropolis the next day to apologize,” Clark said. “I had the great fortune to arrive in the middle of him working out so he answered the door with no shirt on. We started dating about a week or two later and we’ve been together ever since.”

“It’ll be eight years next month since we started dating,” Oliver added. “And I’m hoping for at least that long as Clark’s husband.”

“More with Oliver and Clark after the break,” Julie said, as she noticed the production assistant holding up a sign that said break.

As the live feed was cut for commercials, Oliver was tempted to tell the hosts that he had a special announcement to make, but decided to keep it a surprise. Instead, they just chatted amongst themselves for a couple minutes and Clark and Oliver found out that the pictures from their honeymoon, including the shot by the pool, would be shown after the break. Clark blushed crimson at this, to which Sheryl and Sharon both assured him that he had nothing to be embarrassed about.

After the break, Julie looked straight at the camera as she said, “For those of you just joining us, our guests today are former Governor of California Oliver Queen and his husband, Clark Kent-Queen.” Turning to the guests, she asked, “So, who proposed to who?”

“I proposed to Clark,” Oliver answered. “I’d gone up to New York for a convention of the state governors, but I cleared my schedule for the three days after it and asked Clark to fly up to join me. We did all the normal sightseeing in and around New York before we headed up to Niagara Falls for the day. We watched the sunset over the Falls and then when the light show started, I got down on one knee and pulled out the ring.”

“Obviously I said yes,” Clark said as he held up his hand were a pair of platinum and diamond men’s rings were visible on his ring finger.

“You married in the garden at the Governor’s Mansion in California, right?” Aisha asked.

Oliver nodded. “Yes, I’d chosen to stay on at my family home in Star City and commute to Sacramento by helicopter, so we never actually used the Governor’s Mansion… figured I should use it for something. And since the new governor wasn’t living there either, he didn’t mind us borrowing the garden for a day.”

“And then you honeymooned in Paris,” Sharon said. “And we have pictures.”

The next couple of minutes were spent going through a few of the pictures they’d taken during their honeymoon. Clark or Oliver chiming in on something interesting that happened around the time the picture was taken. It was after looking at the pictures and just when Julie was about to end the segment when Oliver spoke up.

“Julie, I hate to cut in, but before we go, I’d just like to make an announcement.”

Julie nodded and fell silent, although she and her co-hosts all had confused looks on their faces, as nobody had told them that Oliver intended to make any kind of an announcement. Of course, Oliver hadn’t told anybody at the show, deciding to keep it as a surprise.

Looking directly at the camera, Oliver said, “When I decided not to seek a second term as Governor, I seriously believed that my political career was over. I just wanted to spend time with Clark, our son, and just enjoy life. However, after a great deal of thought, I’ve decided that part of my life isn’t as over as I thought. So, right here and now, I’m officially announcing my candidacy for President of the United States in 2016.”

The studio audience erupted into cheers and applause at this, and Clark could see several phones coming out, as people were no doubt posting on social media what Oliver had just said. The five hosts of _The Talk_ were all looking quite surprised, as it took a moment for them to realize that this was actually happening on their show. Julie then asked Clark and Oliver if they could stay a bit longer so they could discuss it a little bit more during the upcoming cooking segment with Chef Curtis Stone, which they agreed.

-o-0-o-

Back in London, after three days, the Wizengamot session was finally, mercifully, over. Harry sometimes wondered why he even attended any of the meetings anymore, as he usually had his seneschal go in his place during the school year. He had been tempted to do that this time, but he hadn’t mainly because he was co-sponsoring Hermione’s bill on werewolves and wanted to throw his personal support behind it. That was something which wouldn’t have carried the same weight if he’d sent his seneschal in his place, even if the votes were still cast the way he wanted them to be.

Harry, Seamus, Andromeda, and the kids would be going back to the States, to the house in Greylock, the next morning. But, for now, on their last day in England, they were at the Potter townhouse having dinner with Ron and Hermione. They’d brought their kids, Rose and Hugo, who were currently upstairs in the spare bedroom that had been turned into a playroom with Teddy, Finn, and Lily. Andromeda and James, meanwhile, had gone to Malfoy Manor for tea at Narcissa’s request.

Over coffee in the drawing room, Harry, Seamus, Ron, and Hermione spent a good hour or so catching up with each and reminiscing about old times. Finally, Harry cleared his throat and said, “Hermione, I was wondering if you could do me a favor.”

“Well, I suppose that depends on the favor,” Hermione said with a smile. “But you know I’ll do anything I can to help you, Harry.”

“Circumstances have arisen in the States which require us to move to our house in Greylock,” Harry said. “Obviously the kids aren’t too thrilled about that since there’s no electricity or internet. So, Andromeda suggested that we use the Gemini Charm on the kids, so at least their doubles will be able to keep in regular contact with their friends during the school year. Of course, I need permission from MACUSA to do that, so I was hoping you could help me get a meeting with President Grimsditch.”

“What kind of circumstances, mate?” Ron asked. “You’re not in any trouble are you?”

Shaking his head, Seamus said, “No, he’s not in trouble, per se. But we just can’t live in a No-Maj… er, Muggle neighborhood anymore.”

Pulling out the iPad he’d borrowed from James that was shielded and modified to run on magic, Harry pulled up a news article talking about Oliver’s candidacy for President, which included pictures of him and Clark from their appearance on _The Talk_. Handing it over to Hermione, as Ron leaned over and looked at it as well, he said, “This is why.”

“Mate, he… he… looks just like you,” Ron said, after a moment, a look of surprise on his face.

Hermione nodded, also very surprised. “Yes, just younger and without your scar.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s freaky isn’t it?” Harry asked. “That there’s somebody walking around with my face? And if that wasn’t weird enough, one of my co-workers at Ilvermorny used to date this Clark and they have a kid together.”

“Although Clark doesn’t know about the kid,” Seamus added. “Clark isn’t a wizard, so Landon couldn’t tell him about their son without breaching the Statute of Secrecy since they’re not married and Landon carried the kid.”

“Are you going to try and meet this Clark Kent?” Ron asked.

“I’m not sure, honestly,” Harry answered. “I mean, obviously, I’m very curious about why we look so much alike. I know there’s an old saying that everybody has a double somewhere on the planet, but I never expected to be confronted with mine.”

“I can understand that,” Hermione said. “At any rate, I’ll be happy to help you get a meeting with President Grimsditch, Harry, although I’d think that you should be able to get one pretty easily yourself.”

“Apparently not,” Harry said. “During the dinner break our second night here, I Floo-Called MACUSA headquarters to try and I didn’t have much luck. While my name did get me in touch with President Grimsditch’s secretary, it wasn’t enough to get a meeting. At least not for several months, as he claimed that the President was booked solid and had no time to see anyone until the third week of February next year.”

Hermione smirked. “I commonly have my own secretary tell people that I’m booked even when I’m actually not. Mainly because the sheer number of people who want personal one-on-one time with me is staggering. I think many of them still think that if they can get me alone that I’ll be amenable to help them in exchange for the right compensation. But then I never expected that reversing over a century of corruption would be easy.” Shaking her head, she added, “Although my secretary has never gone to the extreme of saying I’m booked solid for over half a year and as far as I’m aware, MACUSA doesn’t have the same issue with corruption that we had here.”

“Or if they do or ever did, they’re just very good at hiding their dirty laundry,” Seamus said.

“That’s entirely possible,” Hermione said, as she looked at her watch, noted that with the time zone difference it was still during office hours in New York City, before standing up. “May I use your Floo?”

Harry grinned. “Have at it,” as he waved his old friend towards it. “Floo powder is in the blue vase on the mantle.”

Nodding, Hermione grabbed a pinch of the powder and threw it into the flames. Once the fire turned green she bent down and stuck her head in it after saying, “President’s Office, Woolworth Building, New York City, New York, United States.”

-o-0-o-

Jackson Fontaine, the grandnephew of Ilvermorny Headmaster Agilbert Fontaine and personal secretary of President Rafaella Grimsditch, sat quietly in the outer office as he wrote a letter that Madam President had dictated to him. As usual, he’d written it in shorthand when she’d actually given the dictation and now it was his job to prepare the letter in longhand for her to sign. He heard the whoosh of the flames indicating the incoming Floo-Call, but being in the middle of a very important sentence, he didn’t bother to look up.

“President Grimsditch is unavailable to see anyone until…” Jackson said automatically.

Hermione, however, cut him off. “I’m quite sure that doesn’t extend to the Albion Minister for Magic, does it, Mr. Fontaine?”

Recognizing the voice, Jackson jumped and cursed under his breath when a large drop of ink fell from the tip of his quill and onto the letter he’d been writing… ruining it as it rendered several keywords on four different lines unreadable. Setting the quill aside and looking up, however, he said, “Minister Granger-Weasley, of course, Madam President always has time for you.”

“Thank you,” Hermione said, as she watched Jackson scramble to get up from his desk to come over to the fireplace and tap his wand on the wards which directed all Floo-Calls to the outer office.

“Transferring you now,” Jackson said, just before he finished the necessary pattern of taps that would transfer the Floo-Call to the fireplace in the President’s private office.

Moments later, the fireplace in the private office of President Rafaella Grimsditch whooshed, causing her to look up, curious what call Jackson had deemed important enough for her to actually take. Not that she doubted that it must be important, as Jackson had served her well ever since she’d hired him back when she was still Director of Magical Security and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She’d very happily kept him on during the seven years she’d spent as Vice President of MACUSA under former President Samuel Quahog, who had retired in April of the current year to care for his ailing wife.

“Ah, Hermione,” Rafaella said with a smile to her Albion counterpart. “It’s always a pleasure to see you.”

“You as well, Rafaella.”

“So, what can I do for you?”

“A good friend of mine tried to get a meeting with you,” Hermione said. “But Jackson told him you couldn’t see him until the third week of February.”

“This friend has a name, I trust?”

Hermione nodded. “Well, yes, most people do. This particular one is named Harrison Potter.”

Rafaella nodded. “Ah, I suppose the fact that he has the surname of one of the Twelve is the only reason his call even made it as far as Jackson.”

“Perhaps the name didn’t register because I called him Harrison, Rafaella,” Hermione said. “The person in question is Lord Harrison James Potter. Duke of Granston, Professor of Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts at Ilvermorny, and Defeater of the Dark Lord Voldemort. More commonly known as Harry Potter.”

Contrary to Hermione’s belief, Rafaella was aware of who Hermione was speaking of the moment she’d said, Harrison Potter. However, she’d decided not to let on about that, as if there was one thing she learned during her long career it was to never let on that you know as much as you actually do. It tended to keep people on their toes that way, as you could drop extra information at the most opportune moments.

“Well, defeating a Dark Lord is certainly a worthy recommendation for his chosen career,” Rafaella said, as the corners of her mouth ticked upwards ever so slightly. “However, as I’m sure you’re aware, Hermione, we don’t recognize titles of nobility on this side of the pond.”

“That may be true, Rafaella,” Hermione said. “But as a member of the nobility, he’s a major part of Albion’s government, considering that he’s a member of the Wizengamot.”

Rafaella nodded. “Indeed, but just as I wouldn’t expect you to deal with the Senators and Representatives of the Magical Congress, I would hope that you’d extend the same courtesy to me.”

“Well, you’ve got me there,” Hermione said. “Still, Harry is a dual citizen of Albion and the US. And it’s a matter concerning his life in your country that he needs to speak with you about.”

“Very well, Hermione,” Rafaella answered. “Can you give me some idea what this matter he needs to discuss with me is? I’m not saying I won’t meet with him, especially if you felt the need to contact me about it, but I do like to have some idea what a meeting is about before I enter it.”

“It involves the, as you say over there, No-Maj Presidential election,” Hermione said. “And I realize that MACUSA is completely separate from the No-Maj US government. But a situation has arisen from it that requires him and his family to move out of their home in the non-magic section of Salem. And he’d like permission to cast the Gemini Charm on his children so they can keep in regular contact with their friends… and that requires your approval.”

“Well, that’s quite a request, Hermione,” Rafaella said. “That charm is restricted here for a reason.”

“I’m aware,” Hermione said. “However, all I’m asking is that you hear him out. He’ll be back in the US tomorrow morning. His husband, Seamus Potter, and one of his co-workers at Ilvermorny might join him if that’s okay. It was the co-worker, Landon Lang, who brought the situation to Harry’s attention and thus he may have better knowledge of the said situation.”

“Oh very well,” Rafaella said. “Tell him that I’ll see him at 2 pm tomorrow here at the Woolworth Building. With the time difference that should give him plenty of time to get over here and up to New York.”

“Thank you, Rafaella,” Hermione said before they exchanged goodbyes and Hermione closed the connection.

-o-0-o-

At a quarter to 2 in the afternoon the next day, Harry, Seamus, and Landon entered the Woolworth Building in New York City and made their way through the revolving door that allowed passage into the magical section of the building where the MACUSA headquarters were. Upon entering the grand lobby, Harry, Seamus, and Landon all looked around for a moment at the brilliantly lit room with its cathedral ceilings that were at least 700 feet high.

After a moment, a black-haired man, who was wearing a tailored No-Maj suit approached them. Harry and his group were also dressed in No-Maj suits as they’d had to walk two blocks from the apparition point to the Woolworth Building and thus would have stood out like sore thumbs if they’d walked down the streets of New York City in wizarding attire.

“Harrison Potter?” the man asked.

“Yes?” Harry asked, just a tad wary, as he hadn’t expected an escort to be waiting for him. Although he wasn’t necessarily displeased with it because he’d never been in the building before so he wasn’t exactly sure where the President’s office actually was.

The man smiled, as he held out a hand for Harry to shake. “Don’t be alarmed, Mr. Potter. President Grimsditch asked me to meet you and your party and to escort you up to her office. I’m Lancelot Graves, the Director of Magical Security and Head of Magical Law Enforcement.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Graves,” Harry said, as they shook hands briefly. After shaking hands with Seamus and Landon, Lancelot began leading them towards the elevator to go up to the topmost floor, where the President’s Office was located. “If you don’t mind my asking, how did you know who I was? We’ve never met before after all.”

“A common question among many visitors on their first visit here,” Lancelot replied. “We used to have a special visitor’s entrance, rather like your Ministry back in Albion. Although, as phone booths are a thing of the past these days, we had to adapt. There’s a series of wards around the entrance which identifies everyone who isn’t an employee who enters. It provides a sort of visitor’s badge to them, giving their name and purpose for the visit, although the badge is invisible to non-employees. Basically, it puts your name and purpose above your head, so I knew who you and your companions were the moment I read the badge.”

After a surprisingly quick trip in the elevator up to the top floor, Lancelot stepped out followed by his guests. Nodding to Jackson as he passed his desk, Landon knocked on the door to the inner office.

“Enter,” came a female voice from inside which Harry recognized as the voice of Rafaella Grimsditch. He’d never met her in person, but he had heard recordings of her from the past two campaigns when she’d been Samuel Quahog’s Vice President.

Opening the door, Lancelot ushered Harry, Seamus, and Landon into a large oval-shaped office. The walls and floor were all covered in a rich cherry wood. Several floor-to-ceiling windows covered in tan draperies with very faint yellow stripes lined one side of the room, while a large fireplace occupied the opposing wall. A portrait of Josiah Jackson, the first President of MACUSA, graced the wall above the mantle. Leaning in front of the large desk, was a woman dressed in a black dress, a blue scarf with gold and silver embroidery draped over one shoulder. Also present in the room was another suit-clad man that clearly wasn’t that much older than Harry, Seamus, Landon, or Lancelot.

“Welcome, Mr. Potter,” Rafaella said, as she held out her hand, as Harry and his group made their way across the expensive, silk hand-knotted rug that displayed the MACUSA crest. “I’m Rafaella Grimsditch,” motioning towards the man standing to her left she said, “And this is Seth Barebone, the Director of Major Investigations.”

Shaking hands with Rafaella, Harry then shook hands with Seth and in order to try to quell the nervousness in the pit of his stomach, as he hadn’t been expecting Lancelot or Seth to be sitting in on this meeting, he joked, “I believe all of my tax affairs are in order.”

Seth smiled. “Indeed they are, Mr. Potter. By all accounts, you’re a model citizen and much-liked by your co-workers and students at Ilvermorny. The same goes for your husband and Mr. Lang.”

Leading the group over to the seating group in front of the fireplace, which consisted of two sofas and a pair of wingback chairs, all of them white with pale blue stripes, Rafaella took a seat in one of the armchairs as Lancelot took a seat in the other. Harry and Seamus sat down on one of the sofas and Landon and Seth took the other.

“I’m sure you’re curious why Lancelot and Seth are here, Mr. Potter,” Rafaella said and Harry nodded. “The reason is that after my Floo-Call with Minister Granger-Weasley yesterday, I wanted to be as prepared as possible for this meeting and had your names run through the database. There wasn’t much information on you and your husband. Landon’s name, however, came up several times in the active case files kept by Major Investigations.”

“Do I need to be worried or contact my lawyer?” Landon asked.

“No, that won’t be necessary, Mr. Lang,” Seth answered. “You’re not in any trouble, but your name did come up several times in the files we keep in reference to certain strange events in and around the cities of Smallville and Metropolis, Kansas. I trust you probably know what events I’m referring to.”

Landon sighed. “I imagine they’re related to the meteor showers that hit Smallville in 1989 and 2005. And the various meteor-infected individuals who have plagued the area ever since.”

“Meteors?” Seth asked. “Well, that’s a new one. We hadn’t made any connection to meteors, but it’ll be nice to be able to finally put something a bit more concrete into our files, rather than the current unexplained, non-magical phenomena.”

“You’re certain that meteors were involved with these events?” Lancelot asked.

“Yes, I am,” Landon said. “I was born and raised in Smallville and the 1989 meteor shower killed my parents. As near as I can tell, the rocks contain radioactive minerals that affect people in different ways but usually involves them gaining some sort of power. For example, my high school football coach, Walt Arnold, who was gifted a sauna for his office by the Smallville High Alumni Association after twenty years of teaching. He unknowingly used meteor rocks in the sauna and breathing in the hot fumes caused him to develop pyrokinetic powers, allowing him to create and control fire. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t gain immunity to fire and ended up burning himself to death with his own power.”

“Fascinating,” Rafaella said. “Tragic, but still fascinating.” Looking at Seth, she asked, “Were you aware of that event?”

Seth didn’t answer immediately, as he used his magically shielded iPad to check the database, as one of the first things he’d done when he took over Major Investigations in 2008 was put all the records on a magically shielded computer server. All the old hard copies were still stored away, as with magic there was no real need to get rid of them due to liberal use of Shrinking Charms and Wizard Space. There were, of course, also some members of the Investigations team that preferred hard copies to the computer.

After a moment, he nodded and said, “Yes, we have a record of it, but there was no mention of a sauna. Only that Mr. Arnold, who our records clearly indicate was a No-Maj, was able to create and control fire and had ultimately killed himself with it.”

Having gone over the records with Seth earlier in the morning, Lancelot said, “Other than your name, Mr. Lang, the names of your boyfriends, a Whitney Fordman and Jason Teague, I believe, in addition to Clark Kent come up quite frequently. The latter more than any of the others. Whoever this Mr. Kent is, he definitely seems to get around, as he seems to be involved somehow whenever there’s one of these strange events.”

“Speaking of Clark Kent, that’s actually the reason I’m here today,” Harry interjected. “According to Landon, he’s now Clark Kent-Queen, husband of No-Maj billionaire Oliver Queen, who has recently announced his candidacy for No-Maj President of the United States.”

“Indeed, Mr. Potter?” Rafaella asked. “Forgive me, but what does the election have to do with you?”

“Nothing really,” Harry said. “Except that Clark looks like he could be my identical twin brother. Well, without the scar and assuming that twins could be separated by years, as he looks at least a few years younger than I do.”

Nodding, Seth said, “Well, considering that we have his year of birth as 1987 and yours as 1980, it would make sense that he looks younger. We were never able to get our hands on a picture of him, however. Our local informant only provided a physical description, which looking at it, I can say does sound like it could match you, Mr. Potter.”

Reaching a hand into the inner pocket of his suit jacket, Landon pulled out a picture and said, “This is a picture of Clark Kent. It’s a few years old as he doesn’t work for the Daily Planet anymore, but he hasn’t changed all that much in the intervening years.”

Rafaella gasped as she looked at the picture. “The resemblance is uncanny. You’re sure that Mr. Kent isn’t your brother, Mr. Potter?”

“Considering that my parents were murdered by Voldemort in 1981,” Harry answered, “I’m quite certain that they didn’t go on to have another child in 1987.”

“At any rate, Harry’s strong resemblance to Clark is the problem,” Seamus said, speaking for the first time. “Until very recently, we lived in the non-magical section of Salem, Massachusetts. But, now that Oliver is running for President, he and Clark have become national news and it would no longer be possible for us to live there as the neighbors would no doubt see Harry and think he was Clark since the resemblance is almost impossible to deny.”

“Which is why I asked for this meeting,” Harry said. “We’ve already moved to our second home in Greylock near Ilvermorny. But Seamus’s and my children are not very happy about it since there’s no electricity or internet in Greylock. Which makes it next to impossible for them to keep in touch with their No-Maj friends, of which they have several since they’ve grown up in a No-Maj neighborhood.”

“So you wish to obtain permission to cast the Gemini Charm on them so that their doubles can remain at your home in Salem?” Rafaella asked. “Surely you’re not proposing that they live alone?”

“No, I’m not proposing that they live alone,” Harry said. “My godson’s grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, lives with us and is a sort of surrogate grandparent to my children. She’s agreed to remain in Salem and watch over the children while Seamus and I live in Greylock.”

“Okay, but I’m not certain I see the need for the Gemini Charm,” Lancelot said. “I assume your neighbors are used to your home in Salem sitting empty for several months a year while you and Seamus are at Ilvermorny during the school year?”

“True, they are,” Harry admitted. “We told them we’re dual citizens and spend a large portion of the year in the United Kingdom. However, the problem is that my two younger children attend Salem Institute. My youngest son, Finn, will be starting at Ilvermorny this fall, but Lily won’t for another two years. But Salem Institute isn’t under the same level of warding that Ilvermorny is, so even when they were in school they were able to keep in regular contact with their friends via the internet. Living in Greylock that won’t be possible.”

“They could lie to their friends and say that they’re moving permanently to the UK,” Seamus said. “But we would prefer they didn’t get into the habit of lying. And their friends would question why they can’t keep in touch with them from the UK because they do have the internet there. There’s already questions from Harry’s godson Teddy’s friends about why his internet connection is so bad that he can only reply to emails once a week.”

“Teddy is seventeen and about to start his final year at Ilvermorny,” Harry explained. “Andromeda, Seamus, or I take him to our home in Salem on the weekends so that he can send and respond to emails from his friends.”

“What about non-electronic mail?” Rafaella asked. “The No-Maj world does have a postal service, I assume.”

“They do,” Landon said. “Although as a parent to teenagers myself, I can tell you that teenagers in the No-Maj world don’t use snail mail as it would be called to keep in touch. They email and text, none of which is possible anywhere in Greylock or at Ilvermorny.”

Rafaella sighed. “I sense this is going to be a growing problem that’s only going to get worse as time goes on. Especially among the No-Maj-born students at Ilvermorny. It’s never been brought to my attention before, but I imagine that’s due to the Gemini Charm being allowed for the No-Maj-born children. With the establishment of magical districts in Salem and other cities throughout the country, there aren’t many children from magical households whose families opt to live in the non-magic world.” Looking at Harry and Seamus, she added, “Clearly, however, your family was until recently an exception.”

“Yes, well, despite the fact that my fame from defeating Voldemort isn’t as rabid here as it is in Albion,” Harry said, “it is still present. And thus Seamus and I chose to live in the non-magic world in order to get a few months of break time each year where nobody asks for me to autograph my Chocolate Frog Card or take pictures with them or shake my hand. Contrary to common belief, I do not enjoy my fame or the attention it brings, because it brings up too many unpleasant memories, including the deaths of several loved ones.”

“I can understand that Mr. Potter,” Lancelot said. “However, now it seems that your situation has reversed, as you will now have to seek sanctuary in the magical districts, away from the No-Maj population that you previously lived among.”

“Unfortunately, that’s true,” Harry said. “But there’s nothing I can do about it. Because as rabid as some witches and wizards on both sides of the pond can be in regards to my fame, the American No-Maj media makes them all look like totally uninterested parties. If my name and face get out in the non-magic media, which they’d almost be certain to do if I’m recognized in the non-magical world for my resemblance to Clark Kent-Queen, well, I shudder to even imagine it.”

“As do I,” Rafaella said. “I don’t even want to imagine the complications or overtime for the Obliviators that would result if pictures of you and Clark Kent-Queen got out. We could certainly tell people that you and Clark are brothers, but if the American non-magic press is constantly following you around everywhere you go, the risk of exposing magic to the world grows exponentially and as long as I’m President of MACUSA, I do not intend to allow anyone in this country to be responsible for a breach to the Statute of Secrecy that could be impossible to recover from, even with Swooping Evil venom.”

“Yes, I’m afraid that even if you could get your hands on enough Swooping Evil venom,” Landon said, “I doubt there are enough Thunderbirds in the world to properly deliver it. Because with the internet and social media, a breach of the Statute of Secrecy could be worldwide news in a matter of seconds.”

“Indeed,” Rafaella said. “It’s one of the biggest concerns of the ICW these days. That the No-Majs have reached a level of technological advancement that is very quickly outpacing even the most powerful magic. They have teams of spell researchers and crafters working overtime to try and come up with the means to stay ahead, but it gets harder and harder with each passing day. Many fear that no matter what we do, the secret we’ve kept now for 326 years is going to come out on a global scale.”

“Woe befall the country where the secret breaks,” Seth said. “But, I’m afraid it is almost inevitable that it will happen eventually. It’s just a matter of when and where.”

“And unfortunately, it’ll probably be sooner than any of us would like,” Lancelot said. “And the consequences could be deadly, as while I’d like to think that the world has progressed past the point where finding out about magic wouldn’t result in a rehashing of the Witch Trials, I know that’s not true. There are enough religious fanatics both here in America and abroad who would have no problems with the idea of burning witches. They already put books involving magic on banned book lists in school libraries and some Middle Eastern countries already execute innocent No-Majs for sorcery and witchcraft.”

Harry nodded. “As much as I hate to even think of it, you’re right. The Wizarding World is living on borrowed time and as much as we’d all rather it didn’t, it’s going to run out eventually. And that could very well be the spark that lights the fuse to ignite World War 3.”

“Well, hopefully, it won’t come to that,” Rafaella said. “Of course, then again there have been some calls to reinstate Rappaport’s Law and extend its’ coverage to all member countries of the ICW. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I can understand why some would fear that it’s necessary for the very reasons that Lancelot already stated.” Pausing for a moment as she shook her head and sighed, she finally said, “Very well, Mr. Potter, you have my permission to cast the Gemini Charm on your children.”

“Thank you, Madam President.”

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, in the penthouse of LuthorCorp Plaza in Metropolis, Lex Luthor was staring at the front page headline on the Daily Prophet.

OLIVER QUEEN TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016

Balling up the paper in his left fist, he pounded the desk with his right. “Damn you, Queen.” After a moment he sighed and said, “Fine if you want to make things interesting.”

Dialing a number on his phone, he waited for the other party to pick up before saying, “Start gathering opposition research on Oliver Queen.”

“It’s a bit early for that, isn’t it, sir? I mean, I doubt he’ll be seeking the nomination of the same party that you are, so wouldn’t it be better to do opposition research on Jacob O’Donnell?”

“Get it done on both of them, Regan,” Lex said. “Remember, I will win, because I’m not willing to accept any other outcome. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Ending the call, Lex turned in his seat and stared out the window, the same window that he’d pushed his own father out of years ago, and looked out at the Metropolis skyline, as he muttered to himself, “Oliver, if you think you can beat me in this race, then you’d better think again, because your brain has obviously malfunctioned.”

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have Chapter 5 of ‘Battle of the Billionaires’. I hope you enjoyed it. For those wondering, yes, Harry and Clark will meet each other eventually. At any rate, Lex finally appeared. Obviously, he had to turn up eventually. So too will President Jacob O’Donnell, who is obviously an OC I created for this story.
> 
> Why did I change real-life history and make Barack Obama a one-term president with a fictional Republican elected in 2012? Because I figured it would give me more storyline possibilities in the future and lessens the need for real people to appear in this story. Obviously, that will still happen occasionally, case in point the appearance of the hosts of The Talk in this chapter.
> 
> Speaking of, The Talk was created by Sara Gilbert and is a production of CBS Television Studios.
> 
> Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter @JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at jayson (dot) vascardi.


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